


oh, your love is sunlight

by limehoneytea



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: (which you don't have to read to read this), Aged-Up Characters, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, Friends With Benefits, Happy Ending, I took all my yearning and poured it into this :), Love Letters, M/M, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, This is so sappy, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, aka a red white and royal blue au!, but not really??, but they're in love :), i TRY to be vague but it’s better safe than sorry :), kind of???, rated for non-explicit sex, they SAY they are because of politics and their responsibilities as royals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:47:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25581595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/limehoneytea/pseuds/limehoneytea
Summary: Sokka tamps down the urge to roll his eyes. The Fire Nation absolutely adores this guy and he has to play nice.For the Tribe, he thinks,for the Tribe.“Zuko! Buddy!” Sokka greets loudly going in for a hug. When they’re close enough, he lowers his voice to a rough whisper. “I'd rather be doinganythingelse right now,” he mutters in the prince’s ear, a fake, wide smile plastered on his face.Zuko stiffens but scoffs at him in the same volume. “Do you think I have nothing better to do?” he says, and the two break apart, both brandishing false grins at the other.(IN WHICH: Prince Zuko and Prince Sokka accidentally cause an international scandal and now have to pretend to be best friends, which is a little difficult when they,of course, hate each other)(OR: a vaguely canonverse red white and royal blue au!)
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Mai & Zuko (Avatar), Roku/Sozin (Avatar), Sokka & Suki (Avatar), Sokka & Yue, Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Zuko & Toph Beifong & Aang
Comments: 181
Kudos: 684





	1. and they were enemies...

**Author's Note:**

> I try to drop hints about how we ended up in this timeline instead of the canon timeline through the fic, but just to be clear, I'll explain what led to the events of the fic here (you're nowhere near obligated to read it I just spent too much time working it out and I need to dump it somewhere):
> 
> The main catalyst to this is that Aang doesn't run away. Sozin still attacks the Air Nomads (just, a little bit earlier) but Aang is there to protect his people. After making sure those at his temple are safe, he goes to travel to the other temples to help them which is when the storm hits and he gets frozen for a hundred years. Sozin still wages his war but after such a big defeat early on, he loses his momentum and his ability to spread propaganda through the Fire Nation is decreased. When Azulon takes the throne, he isn't able to continue the war and it ends. However, because of the Fire Lord's display of absolutely power to bring harm, by the time Ozin is Fire Lord, he's struggling to even keep the monarchy afloat because the people don't trust it anymore. The whole thing with Iroh still happens and Ozai still burns Zuko bc he is still a shit person, but he keeps Zuko around because the Fire Nation citizens LIKE and TRUST him and Ozai lets them think he'll give Zuko the throne after him to keep the monarchy going (even though he plans to give it to Azula). Public opinion of the Fire Nation still isn't the best (you can't try to end an entire culture and still be regarded as good people) but now they do diplomatic stuff so the people don't rebel (keeping an empire going through just fear is TOUGH) and try to make nice with the other nations. 
> 
> The war ending early means that the Southern Water Tribe is fine and Sokka and Katara are royalty the same way Yue is. Suki serves as a bodyguard for them. Toph is here because her parents are high society (basically rich and powerful) so they run in similar circles and she becomes friends with Zuko because he doesn't treat her like she's helpless (they're besties!!). Aang is found in Fire Nation waters by random fisherman and is brought to the palace because Ozai knows having the avatar's favor will mean the people will like him better. Aang becomes friends with Zuko and through him, becomes friends with Toph. Mai and her knives bodyguard Zuko and Ty Lee bodyguards Azula.
> 
> I hope I covered it all? Let me know if you have any more questions and I really hope you all enjoy this!
> 
> (Title from Sunlight by Hozier)

Sokka hates it here. 

He’s leaning against his sister, head slumped, as he glances over all the stuffy nobles dotting the large spanning ballroom.

Sokka and Katara are at the Earth Kingdom Palace for a diplomacy summit. Their parents are Chieftains of the Southern Water Tribes which means... a lot of things. One of those things is that they have some kind of obligation to make nice with spoiled brats from all over the world. It’s absolutely  _ exhausting _ . 

Sokka rolls his eyes as his gaze settles on three figures on the opposite side of the ballroom. One of the first things anyone working with his family is notified of is Sokka’s unwavering dislike for one Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. He is sitting there now, one hand curled under the cut of his perfect jawline as he listens to Toph Beifong rant about something or other on his right. On his left sits Avatar Aang, airbending a coin between his hands. 

Sokka remembers being so offended when the Avatar stayed at the Fire Nation Palace after being found in the ice just because he was discovered in their waters. The Avatar, the boy who destroyed Fire Nation armies to save his home right before he disappeared, living at the  _ Fire Palace _ and befriending the  _ Fire Princ _ e. Disgraceful.

“Would you stop brooding?” Suki chimes from next to Sokka, hitting his arm lightly to get his attention. “He’s just having a conversation with his friends. There’s no need for you to glare a hole into his head for it.”

“I could care less about his and Beifong’s rich kid party. I’m just upset the Avatar hangs out with them. After all the Fire Nation tried to do to his people?”

Suki rolls her eyes. “Prince Zuko wasn’t even alive then! His  _ grandfather _ was like… five years old. You’re just being dramatic.”

“I am not!” Sokka huffs, eyes drifting back to Zuko as his long fingers tap over his knee. He laughs lightly at something Beifong says and for the first time that night, his princely mask slips and he actually looks somewhat… normal. “Whatever,” Sokka sighs, getting up to his feet. “I’m getting a drink.”

He gets a drink. And then another. And then one more. Contrary to what Sokka might like to claim, he’s not actually that good at holding his liquor. The event drags on and Sokka follows his sister around like a puppy as she does what they’re here to do. 

Then, he gets distracted. Next to the food table, framed completely by a towering dessert display, stands Prince Zuko, sippling delicately on a bubbling drink. Sokka saunters over. “Hey, jerkbender!” he calls as he ambles towards him and props an arm on his shoulder.

Zuko stiffens slightly but tugs a carefully blank smile onto his face. “Prince Sokka,” he greets politely. “It’s wonderful to see you.”

Sokka laughs wildly and ends with a snort, looking up at the prince. “No it’s not,” he chuckles before his smile fades and he narrows his eyes. “Doesn’t it ever get tiring?”

A confused little frown appears between Zuko’s brows. “Doesn’t what ever get tiring?”

“Oh I don’t know, pretending like you’re not above all of this?” Sokka gestures, plucking a pastry from the towering and probably very expensive dessert tower. “We know we’re all peasants, you don’t have to pretend to be nice about it with that fake fucking smile.”

“Prince Sokka, you are royalty as well,” Zuko says. “You also have the title of Prince.”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same. My parents aren’t Chieftains because of their blood, they aren’t nobles or anything. On me, the title is arbitrary. On you, it actually means something. You’ll be Fire Lord one day.”

Something flashes over Zuko’s eyes, something suspiciously like emotion, before he tamps it down to his familiar carefully polite mask. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

“Ugh,” Sokka groans, shoulders slumping. “Why do you hate me so much? Are you contractually obligated to antagonize Water Tribe scum or is that just you?”

Zuko turns sharply, his smile slipping. He looks almost angry.  _ Good _ , it’s an emotion, at least. “Have you considered that I don’t? That you’re the one who’s always the first to antagonize? I wasn’t the one to approach you tonight, Prince Sokka, you did that by yourself.”

He shakes off the arm on his shoulder and moves to walk away. Sokka makes a split second decision, because he can’t leave now, he  _ can’t _ . Sokka clamps his hand on Zuko’s shoulder and tugs harshly.

And they go tumbling down. Backwards, into the food table, right on top of the very expensive tower of desserts. 

They’re both on the floor now, covered in desserts and breathing heavily. Next to him, in maybe the purest form of emotion he’s ever seen or heard from the prince, Zuko very softly mutters, “Fuck,” limply bringing his hand up to brush sticky jam from his face.

* * *

Sokka is hanging upside down on the bed in his room at the Earth Kingdom Palace, legs thrown up and head dangling. Katara rests on a nearby chair while Suki sits on the floor, cross-legged and swaddled in blankets. He groans, fiddling with the piece of paper he’s holding over his head. “It’s bad enough that I have to go to the Fire Palace, but I have to learn all this stuff about him too? He’s so  _ boring _ , Suki, why would you do this to me?”

“I’m not in charge of that, Sokka. My only job is to make sure you two don’t get kidnapped or assassinated. Diplomacy is not my thing.”

Sokka groans again, loudly. Katara huffs. “It’s your own fault, Sokka. We came here to  _ improve _ foreign relations, not worsen them by picking a fight with the Fire Nation Prince and destroying the Earth Kingdom Palace in the process. Do you wanna go vandalize an Air Temple next, check that off your list?”

He huffs. “Okay, first, I didn’t destroy the _ palace _ , it was  _ one  _ table. And…” he sighs dramatically, like it physically pains him to say this, “you’re… right, I guess.” He sits up and balls up the fact sheet handed to him by someone earlier, he doesn't remember, and tosses it to Katara. “But, look how boring he is! I’m supposed to learn all this stuff if I’m going to pretend to be his best friend but it’s just so… dry!”

Katara unfolds and smooths out the piece of paper before going through it. There’s a strange sort of expression on her face, like she wants to agree with him but refuses to on principle. She sighs. “Do you want me to quiz you?”

“Well, if I don’t know this stuff, then I can’t pretend to be his best friend, and if I can’t pretend to be his best friend I can’t pass off the incident earlier as a haha funny tussle between bros, and if I can’t do that, then—”

“We get it!” Suki interrupts, shifting closer to Katara so she can also look at the sheet. “Now, do you want to be quizzed or not?”

Sokka sighs and flops down onto the bed on his back, staring up at the beige ceiling. “Yeah, quiz me.”

“Parents?” asks Katara.

“Easy. Fire Lord Ozai and Lady Ursa. His mother disappeared a few years ago, presumed dead.”

“Okay, best friends?” continues Suki, and then pauses to smirk. “Other than you, of course.”

Sokka sighs dramatically. “Avatar Aang and Toph Beifong, give me something difficult!”

Katara scans the list. “Favorite animal?”

This, Sokka doesn’t know. He didn’t even know Zuko was capable of having something as pedestrian as a favorite animal. “Uh, dragons?” he guesses, because firebenders like dragons, right?

Suki makes a loud buzz noise, making an X with her arms. Katara chuckles. “No, it’s turtle-ducks.”

Sokka hadn’t expected that. “That’s... kind of adorable, actually,” he mumbles to himself. “Maybe he has a heart after all.” He smiles, and then turns to face his sister and his best friend. “Okay, next question.”

* * *

Sokka steps off the ship and onto the busy Fire Nation dock, just as the sun is about to sink, faced with a buzzing crowd. They’re all here to catch a peek of their dearest Prince’s best friend, and Sokka hates him. 

The two Water Tribe servants he brought with him immediately go for crowd control as Sokka steps forward. He had to leave Suki behind but he guesses those two will do.

Prince Zuko stands in the very center of the dock, with a scary-looking girl next to him, smiling as he soaks all the attention up. Sokka tamps down the urge to roll his eyes. The Fire Nation absolutely adores this guy and he has to play nice.  _ For the Tribe _ , he thinks,  _ for the Tribe _ . 

“Zuko! Buddy!” Sokka greets loudly going in for a hug. The scary-looking girl at Zuko’s side stiffens and Sokka spots the glint of a knife within her robes. She only relaxes when Zuko eases into the hug, and Sokka feels himself sag in relief. He really doesn’t want to get stabbed today. “I would rather be doing anything else right now,” he mutters in the prince’s ear, a fake, wide smile plastered on his face.

Zuko stiffens but scoffs at him in the same volume. “You think I have nothing better to do?” he says, and the two break apart, both brandishing fake grins at the other. 

There’s a palanquin waiting for the two of them and Sokka grimaces as he gets in. When the curtain closes, he whispers, “This is so weird, why can’t we just walk? I don’t like the thought of people having to carry us around.”

“I don’t like these either, but, father insists,” Zuko murmurs, finger lightly brushing his scar as he rests his face on his palm. Sokka softens, just slightly. 

There’s a moment of silence, before Sokka speaks up. “Who’s the scary knife girl?” 

Zuko huffs a small laugh. “That’s Mai. She’s supposed to protect me, I guess. Like… your Kyoshi Warrior. Suki, was it?”

Sokka nods, going to say something when he’s interrupted by the palanquin stopping. “That’s it?” he asks. “We could have easily walked!” 

Zuko sighs, a soft red dusting his cheeks, like he was embarrassed. “I’m aware,” he mumbles and he sounds so... resigned, so small. Sokka feels a hint of guilt as he climbs out and plasters a large fake smile on his face for the waiting crowd. 

They wind around the crowd and into the Palace, servants waiting in the hall. 

They stroll through the ornate hallway and into an equally ornate room. “These are the guest chambers,” Mai informs in a bored voice. She sounds like she’d rather be doing anything else right now and Sokka is somewhat of a fan. “The Prince’s chambers are across the hall.”

“Uh, so, what are we going to be doing to sell this thing?” Sokka asks curiously. Twin glares land on him as he recoils and grins nervously.

It is Zuko who answers. “Tomorrow morning, we’re going to Caldera City’s largest hospital and speaking to some of the patients there. Then, we have to give an interview to some of the bigger newspapers. The day after that, I’m supposed to give you a very public tour around the city and then you can leave.”

Sokka goes to say something, make a joke about gullible Fire Nation citizens, when he meets Mai’s eyes and quiets. She’s not even glaring or anything, she’s just terrifying without even _ trying _ . 

“Dinner will be brought to you. If you wish to be entertained, you may ask a guard for reading material,” she says flatly, almost as if she’s reading off a script. She turns sharply and proceeds down the hall, leaving the two princes alone.

“Uh, good night,” Zuko says, awkwardly, dashing off after Mai.

Sokka watches them go and heaves a sigh, gingerly sitting down on the weirdly hard bed. This is going to be… interesting. 


	2. don't be a stranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which they talk about their feelings! (no, not those feelings)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to condense their path to friendship to just this chapter because this is already too long and I have commitment issues but ALSO because I had the brilliant idea to make this canonverse so there's no texting! meaning there's no 'okay we didn't like each other but we formed a pretty good relationship over texts and i don't know how we'll interact when we meet again' dynamic from the og novel and letters can only go so far :( hope y'all still like it tho!!

The door to the hospital is just as big and red as the rest of Caldera City. Sokka walks next to Zuko, crowds of eager citizens whispering beneath their hands as they watch them. Though this is what they’re supposed to be doing, putting on a show, it feels wrong somehow, tainted.

Sokka forces a smile on his face, which slips as soon they’re inside closed doors. Next to him, Zuko smiles nervously, grimacing in apology. Sokka rolls his eyes but falls back into step with him, as the two make their way through the wards side by side. Their guards flank them and they weave in and out of rooms, patients eagerly watching the two princes.

They are only to make their rounds in the children’s ward today, and that is, at least, some good news. Sokka’s always been good with children, so he’s almost in his element as he crouches town in front of their too-small beds with a grin. They don’t care much for him, only recognizing him as the Fire Prince’s friend but they’re still in awe. 

He doesn’t think they’ve seen anyone like him before, as yet another child compliments him on his eyes, making Zuko duck his head yet again. He laughs and thanks them, letting them press their little hands to his cheek so they can get a closer look. 

Sokka makes his way through the patients, centering himself around a group of eager children as he retells stories from the Water Tribe, old myths and legends of Tui and La, as well as newer stories, tales of the brief war and the creatures of the sea encountered through it. 

He gets lost in it, the stories of Gran-Gran fighting a sea serpent while traveling South, of his father and Bato’s ice-dodging adventures, of his mother befriending and saving a beached whale. It’s the first time he’s felt at home since stepping foot on the dry Fire Nation land and he revels in it.

Eventually, the children get tired and Sokka concludes his story and rises, ruffling their hair and grinning into the hugs he receives. He imagines Fire Lord Sozin being here to see this: the youth of his nation being so enamored by a foreign prince who’s people he had wanted to destroy and his grin widens.

As he separates from the band of little admirers he had managed to assemble, he looks around for his “best friend.” As much as he dislikes the guy, he’s the only person, other than scary knife-wielding Mai lingering in the shadows, that he knows here and he’s itching for even a hint of familiarity within these unfamiliar halls.

He tentatively walks through the ward until he hears a familiar cadence float through the hall. The words are muffled by the rice-paper screen between them but Sokka would recognize that specific form of rasp anywhere. 

He moves closer to the sound until he can almost discern the words. “You’ve seen Love amongst the Dragons?” comes a small voice, a child’s voice. 

He hears a deep hum rumble in Zuko’s throat. “My mother and I watched it every year,” he affirms. 

The child squeals and Sokka hears Zuko laugh in response. It’s the first time he’s heard him laugh, he notices. It’s a nice laugh, a rolling rhythm echoing around the small room, the sound slightly dulled by the rice-paper screen between them, but still vibrant. Sokka… wouldn’t mind hearing it again.

Lost in his thoughts, he misses the child’s response, and tunes back in as Zuko speaks. “You’re right,” he says. “It was the Empress’s unconditional love for Noren that made him able to break free of the curse.”

“And defeat the Dark Water Spirit!” the child chimes. Zuko laughs again, brighter than the last time, and agrees. There is a moment of silence before the child speaks up. “Do you think… I’ll be able to break free of my curse, too?” in a wide-eyed curious manner only someone so young can. 

Sokka can hear Zuko fumbling to answer, and he chooses this time to make his presence known. “Hey,” he greets, assessing the child. She seems to have burns spanning almost half her body and Sokka feels something tug in his heart as he realizes why Zuko chose this particular child to converse with. 

“Hi!” she responds excitedly. “You’re Prince Zuko’s best friend, right!”

“Kira, please, it’s just Zuko,” he admonished gently, as she smiles at him. 

“That I am!” Sokka affirms, ambling to stand next to his ‘best friend’ and slinging an arm around his shoulder. “It’s really nice to meet another one of jerkbender’s friends,” he says teasingly, cocking his head toward the Prince.

Kira giggles at the nickname as Zuko sputters, muttering, “Stop teaching people that!” indignantly. 

As the three laugh, two figures slip past the screen. A nurse patiently holding a chart stands next to Mai. “We’re leaving soon,” she says, as the nurse moves forward to speak softly to Kira. 

The two princes rise, abruptly separating when they realize Sokka’s arm still swung around Zuko’s shoulder. The very corner of Mai’s mouth quirks up in amusement. The two say their goodbyes to Kira, Sokka tapping her nose as he wishes her luck. 

They make their way out, waving to the other patients, and Sokka spots the soft smile that still hasn’t left Zuko’s face. It’s surprising to see him like this, not the cool and collected, always-pristine Prince of the Fire Nation but… just a boy. A nice boy, who cares about people and likes to watch romantic plays. A boy who—   
  


And then:  _ Woosh _ — a burst of flame wheezes by Sokka, so close that he can feel the burning heat. An attack. 

In the span of a moment, Zuko’s in front of him, one arm lit up with a warm but threatening flame of his own. Sokka comes to a halting realization. Zuko’s first instinct is to… protect him. Not to run and save himself, but protect Sokka. He pushes this thought away. It’s not the time. 

Mai is in front of both of them, shoving them both through a hallway and into a nearby closet, filled with medical supplies and blankets. Zuko moves to protest, but she hisses, “Stay down,” and closes the door firmly shut, moving away. 

It’s dark, the only sliver of light coming from the bottom of the door. They exchange a wary glance. Sokka closes his eyes and slumps against a pile of blankets. 

* * *

“You know,” Sokka mutters, a sarcastic smile curving up his lips, “in all the time my parents have been Chieftains, I’ve never had to face a threat to my life.” He searches for Zuko, his eyes still getting adjusted to the dark of the closet. “Until now.”

“Um, many people dislike the Fire Nation, like you do,” Zuko responds hesitantly, as if he’s afraid to speak. “And there is plenty of internal turmoil within the nation as well. Danger is… sort of inescapable.” 

Sokka chuckles into his hand and sinks deeper into the blanket pile he’s pressed against. “So… everyone hates the Fire Nation, including the Fire Nation?” he laughs. “That’s… I don’t wanna say fitting because it is your country but…” he trails off.

An awkward silence follows, and there is something uncomfortable lingering in the air. And then, in a sort of quivering voice different from anything Sokka has heard from him before, Zuko asks, “Why do you hate me?”

“What?”

He sighs, and Sokka can see his silhouette as he curls his knees to his chest and leans back into a pile of wooden boxes. “I know why you hate the Fire Nation, that much is obvious,” he mutters bitterly, “but what made you hold a grudge against me, specifically? What did I do?”

“You mean…” Sokka frowns, “you don’t remember?”

There’s a moment of thought, before he hesitantly answers, “...No.”

It is Sokka’s turn to be bitter, as he scoffs, and rolls his eyes. “Of course you don’t,” he mutters. He takes a deep breath, trying to imagine Gran-Gran guiding him through meditation. A ball of golden energy travels down from the tip of his head and splits into four when it gets to his chest. Each ball moves through his limbs and exits through the tips of his fingertips.

“It was…” he begins slowly. It’s been a while since he’s told this story. “Spirits, years ago. Five years ago, I think. It was the first time I met you, at the cultural preservation gala or something, and I was… honestly really excited to meet you. We’re pretty similar, in terms of where we stand in world politics, and people kept talking about you to me, I guess.”

He lets out a bitter laugh and pulls one of the folded blankets to his lap, hugging it to his chest. “I introduced myself, and shook your hand, and you… returned it, but then, right after, turned to the guard next to you and said,  _ ‘can you get rid of him? _ ’”   
  


Zuko frowns, quirking his head to the side. “Sokka,” he whispers softly, almost sadly.

“I guess,” Sokka forges on, “I don’t know, I felt alienated. Like you looked me right in the eye and told me I didn’t belong there and especially in the early days, right after my parents got the title, that was… devastating. So, I turned around, cried for a bit and then… decided to hate your guts forever.” He breaks off with another bitter laugh and moves his hand up to do some sarcastic jazz hands he hopes Zuko can see the silhouette of in the dark. “The end.”

“Sokka,” Zuko speaks, after a short stretch of silence. “I know this doesn’t excuse anything, but, I remember now, that was my first public event after I got the scar. I, uh, felt like everyone was staring at me, thinking about how ugly it was, and I was on-edge.” He pauses, trying to figure out what else to say and Sokka lets him gather his thoughts. “Everything blurred together for the year or so after I got the scar, I’m sorry I had a hard time remembering it.”

“Shit… sorry, dude.”

“No,” Zuko shakes his head. “Don’t apologize. You were completely in the right, I was horrible to you.” He sighs. “But, if it matters at all… I don’t think of you that way. You definitely did and still do deserve to be there, at the gala  _ and  _ holding a place in world politics. You’re incredible at it. You…” he rests his chin on his tucked knees and angles his head towards Sokka. “You deserve a place more than I do.”

Sokka scoffs but smiles regardless. “Come on, you’re going to be the Fire Lord next.”

Zuko sighs but nods slowly. “I… I guess,” he almost whispers.

  
  


Sokka frowns. Something about his response is off, but Sokka doesn’t want to pry. Instead, he changes the subject. “How’d you get the scar anyway?” he asks innocently, and then immediately regrets it. Zuko’s head shoots up and the tension in the air becomes too palpable to bear. “You don’t have to—”

“That’s a story for another time,” Zuko interrupts, shaking his head and slumping down again.

“Okay,” Sokka agrees, mind still buzzing at the prospect of ‘another time.’ Prince Zuko… wasn’t so bad, Sokka realizes with a screeching halt, he wouldn’t mind another time. 

Sokka changes the subject again, because this too is making Zuko uncomfortable. He could have sworn he was a better conversationalist than this. “So,” he tries, “Love amongst the Dragons, huh? Gotta say, I did  _ not  _ take you for a romance play type.”

Jackpot. Zuko cracks a small smile and Sokka can almost see him blush. “It was my mother’s favorite,” he admits softly. “We used to watch a lot of plays together. Haven’t seen one since her… disappearance, but it was nice, when we did.”

“You should go see one!” Sokka suggests, enthusiastic. “Come on, you look like you haven’t done anything fun in years, you’ll have a good time!” 

“I,” Zuko pauses and hums lowly. Sokka feels it in the pit of his stomach. “Yeah, maybe I will,” he decides and the two exchange a smile in the dark.

Just then, the door cracks open, light flooding in as Mai stands tall in front of them. The boys startle. Neither of them had heard her footsteps and they can’t help but think what would have happened if it wasn’t Mai opening the door. “This looks cozy,” she says, somewhat smugly, looking down at the two.

Zuko springs up to his feet in an instant, ignoring her comment. “What happened? Who were those guys?

Mai huffs. “Anti-royalty rebels,” she explains flatly. “And these ones hate you too.”

Sokka frowns, getting up to his feet as well and making a haphazard effort to straighten out the pile of blankets he ruined. “They don’t usually? I mean, I figured, with anti-royalty...” he trails off as he meets Mai’s gaze.

She rolls her eyes. “I don’t have time for this,” she mutters, turning sharply and strutting away, clearly expecting the two to follow her. 

They do, because of course they do. Sokka looks to Zuko and hopes he will provide the answer instead. He does. “They do hate me, as a default for being royal, but they hate me… less?” he says, a confused little expression on his face. He sighs softly. “Out of everyone in the family, my approval ratings are the highest, I guess.”

Sokka grins wickedly, reaching over to ruffle Zuko’s pristinely combed hair. “Of course they are, you’re the apple of the Fire Nation’s eye, jerkbender,” he teases as Zuko grumbles under his breath, a small smile still plastered onto his face.

Mai glances behind her at them with a strange look on her face. Shaking her head slightly, she squares her shoulders, raises her head, and keeps walking.

* * *

Sokka wakes up the next morning actually feeling somewhat hopeful about the remainder of his trip. The task of getting out of bed doesn’t seem quite as daunting when he has somewhat of a friend waiting from him on the breakfast table. 

After breakfast, the two make their way out of the palace, Mai trailing closely behind them and some guards in plainclothes scattered around for security, especially needed because the purpose of the trip is to be recognized. 

Even with them around, it feels like just the two of them, just Sokka and Zuko strolling through the streets. They are grinning, laughing loudly among the bustle of the crowd and Sokka feels something settle in his chest.  _ Friendship _ , he thinks, and smiles.

After the compulsory tour of Caldera City, with all of its monuments and parks and all, Zuko finally steers them towards the marketplace, chuckling slightly as Sokka’s delighted exclamation of “Shopping!” 

After befriending half the sellers at the market and buying himself a cool silver dagger bedazzled with red and blue gems, they finally find a place to sit down and eat and Sokka realizes he hasn’t had this much fun in… a long time. 

He smiles at the boy across from him, clad in Fire Prince regalia with his hair secured in a gentle knot over his head. Sokka kind of wants to reach over and take the top knot out, run his fingers through Zuko’s flowing hair, and he’s kind of unsettled by this realization.

Zuko sips on his tea and looks at Sokka strangely. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he smiles softly. “I’m just thinking about how I have to leave soon,” he chuckles. “I am  _ not _ looking forward to that boat ride.”

Zuko’s smile dims slightly and Sokka feels something stir in his chest at the prospect that he doesn’t want him to leave either. 

Sokka moves to shift the subject. “Come on, tell me about this tea. Why in Spirits’ names is it spicy? Does everything in the Fire Nation have to set my tongue on fire?” he prompts, leading Zuko to a long-winded monologue about the history of tea. Sokka can’t stop watching him.

His hands move animatedly, eyes lit up with a simmering sort of happiness. Zuko cuts himself off with a blush when he eventually notices. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent. I guess I’ve been around Uncle Iroh for too long,” he mumbles sheepishly.

“You’re telling me that the great General Iroh has a secret passion for  _ tea _ ?”

Zuko snorts. “It’s not much of a secret but I guess his reputation precedes him,” he jokes, before delving into mornings spent with Iroh and Lu Ten brewing teas from all corners of the world when he should have been training, clasping his sticky little hands around the cup as he took burning sips of the too-hot drink. Sokka decides, right then and there, that he could listen to Zuko talk forever. 

“I’ve… missed it,” Zuko concludes as his tales draw to a close. “Uncle… hasn’t been the same since Lu Ten’s death. Tea was something the three of us shared and it feels tainted, now,” he confesses.

“If it was something you shared, you could see tea as something to honor him and his memory rather than something tainted by his death,” Sokka suggests. “Like, his life is worth more than the impact of his death, right?”

Zuko cracks a smile ever so slowly, a tiny sliver at first that morphs into a grin. “You’re… strangely wise,” he comments and Sokka laughs, a full-bodied, all-encompassing laugh.

After lunch, they walk around for a bit more before the time comes and Sokka has to leave. They stand on the dock, the towering steamship looming over them. There are people around, shopkeepers and regular citizens and fans of the Prince, but unlike the first time he was here, he doesn’t notice them.

“Okay, last minute wisdom,” Sokka whispers. “Go watch a play, have tea with your uncle and try to have a little fun,” he says in a sort of joking sternness, pointing his figure at Zuko’s laughing face.

“Have a safe trip, Sokka,” he wishes politely, the false air of diplomacy cracking under the power of his smile.

“It’s not like I have any say in the matter,” Sokka frowns because he thinks he’s funny. 

Zuko scoffs. “Die, then,” he jokes and before they know it, they’re both going in for a hug, arms wrapped tightly around each other. 

Sokka can’t believe it was only a few days ago that he still harbored a form of hatred for the Prince. He thinks that this the only time being locked in a closet has done anyone good. He sinks deeper into the hug, remembering what their first hug days ago felt like. This isn’t anything like the stiff, vaguely formal hug from then, this is… an embrace. 

They break apart, and Sokka cracks a grin. “Don’t be a stranger,” he says, and then turns around, boarding the ship. As far as goodbyes go, it’s not so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> every comment adds one year to my lifespan please let me know what you think!


	3. enemies to friends to [fill in the blank]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> is this what you've been waiting for? yes. But also no. <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the comments in the last chapter were so !!!!!!! I love you guys so much sghsdgsdgss I have been Fulfilled. I read them and them immediately wrote this chapter at breakneck speed just 4 u all :) I hope you like it!!!!
> 
> (also someone asked about their ages and I figured I should clarify them? they're aged up so Zuko is 21, Sokka is 20, Katara and Azula are 19, Aang and Toph are 17.)

_ Prince Sokka, _

_ Your parting words to me were ‘don’t be a stranger.’ Take this as an example of me following directions. As per your advice, I took some time off to go see a production like I have memories of doing with my mother. One of the characters reminded me of you: he was loud and brash and a bit brutish. He was funny though, even when some of his jokes were lackluster. _

_ Also per your advice, I invited Uncle to have tea with me in memory of Lu Ten. I hope you don’t mind that I took your words to propose it to him, but your bouts of accidental wisdom are truly diamonds among fields of coal.  _

_ How are things going in the South Pole? Winter in Caldera City is quite nice, actually, never cold, just cool enough to be comforting. I can imagine that’s not the case for you.  _

_ Write back to me, if you wish. Don’t be a stranger. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation _

Sokka reads over the letter more times than he can count. He feels a big smile take over his face as he absentmindedly reaches over to pet the hawk Zuko sent his letter with. Then, he sits down with some paper and some ink and begins to write. 

_ Dearest Prince Jerkbender, _

_ Spirits, how are you even more stuffy in writing that you are in person? I thought I knew you dude, but it’s hilarious trying to read all of that in your voice.  _

_ The play, I'm sorry, 〜production〜 sounds fun, even if you used it to make fun of me. I’m glad you’re starting to enjoy things again, soullessness is  _ _ not _ _ a good look on you.  _

_ Things at the South Pole are… cold. I’m not kidding, man, I grew up here and even I’m freezing my limbs off. Speaking of winters though, what are you doing for the solstice? _

_ I don't know if the Fire Nation does something for it, but we in the Water Tribe have this cool thing called the Glacier Spirits Festival. It’s basically a gigantic party with food and games and music. It’s a lot of fun, you should come, and bring Beifong and the Avatar. We try to open it up to all four nations and only a few people from the Fire Nation have ever attended, but I know you’ll have a blast!  _

_ (I actually think your Uncle was here maybe, two years ago, now that I think about it. Now that I remember him, I can definitely say you were right about him. His tea is absolutely amazing, I’m happy you two are getting to do that again!) _

_ Let me know what you think about the Festival! I’ll have someone prepare you the warmest clothes we have in the Southern Water Tribe if you decide to come, so your fingers and toes stay intact.  _

_ Think about it, jerkbender. You’re not bad company.  _

_  
_ _ Sokka _

He attaches the letter to the awaiting hawk and watches it fly off into the distance. Later, when Sokka tells Suki about inviting his good pal Zuko to the festival, she only smiles. 

_ Sokka, _

_ I don’t think I could ever mimic my way of speaking with my way of writing like you do. I suppose you’ll just have to deal with me being “stuffy.”  _

_ As for the solstice, we used to have festivals but they stopped when the war started and neither grandfather nor father have ever made efforts to reenact them. There are a few unofficial celebrations around the city, but nothing I could attend. We mostly have meetings and talk about politics, the socioeconomic status of the nation, and the like. It’s all very uptight and boring so a festival sounds quite attractive in comparison. _

_ I asked uncle about it over tea and he confirmed your theory of his presence. He said he enjoyed it and encouraged me to attend, though he sadly announced that he wouldn’t be able to join me this year.  _

_ I claimed ‘improving foreign relations’ and cleared it with my father so expect Aang and I to be there. (Toph, unfortunately, will not be able to join us, her parents are sadly very strict on her.) I look forward to seeing you and experiencing the joys of the Glacier Spirits Festival as you’ve described them. _

_ Have the warm clothing prepared please, I’m quite attached to my limbs.  _

_ See you soon,  _

_ Prince Zuko. _

* * *

“You think you’ve got jokes? ‘ _ I’m quite attached to my limbs _ ,’” Sokka laughs in lieu of a greeting as he pulls Zuko into a hug. 

He laughs lightly into Sokka’s shoulder, murmuring, “It was a good joke,” into the fabric of his jacket. 

Sokka steps back gesturing to a servant carrying a bundle of blue clothes. “As promised,” he gestures, plucking it from her hands and dumping them on Zuko. “The warmest in the Southern Water Tribe.”

“Avatar Aang,” Katara greets from behind, as Zuko pulls the coat over his body . “We have warm clothing prepared for you, too. It gets cold in the South Pole.” She smiles, a light dusting of pink over her cheek, as she leads Aang away, leaving the two princes be. They exchange a glance.

“Oh, huh. My sister and the Avatar. I can’t believe I never saw that one coming,” Sokka comments, tossing a lopsided grin towards his friend. 

Zuko looks up, red dusting his nose from where his face peeks out from the giant mountain of jacket, and Sokka has to tamp down something fluttering in his chest. “Yeah,” Zuko adds. “He’s been babbling about her constantly since he met her at that diplomacy summit.”

“The one where we accidentally caused an international scandal?” 

Zuko laughs, a bright, warm thing, and the fluttering feeling returns. “Yeah that one,” he says with a chuckle. This time, Sokka lets it rest, feels the fluttering warmth of his chest soothe his soul.

The two princes turn and Sokka swings his arm casually around Zuko’s shoulder, whispering about the night’s events. 

Off to the side, a stunned servant gapes at the two. Everyone knows that Prince Sokka of the Water Tribe and Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation hate each other… right? Everyone working for both families knows that the  _ they’re best friends _ thing was just a cover, just a means to keep diplomatic relations with the Fire Nation… wasn’t it? 

  
She watches them go, laughing like old friends, casual touches and inside jokes and all.  _ The others aren’t gonna believe this _ , she thinks, and runs off.

* * *

The Glacier Spirits Festival is on paper, a festival held to strengthen ties between the Northern and Southern Water Tribes and honor the spirits, ending on the Winter Solstice, when the veil between the material world and spirit world is lightest. 

The Glacier Spirits Festival, in practice, is days of music, partying and eating the best foods while spending time with your friends. Sokka leads Zuko to the arriving Northern Water Tribe ships, Katara and Aang following them. Suki is somewhere in the crowd, her job of keeping them secure heightened in a busy time like this.

The ship docks and the Northern Chieftain steps out. Lingering after him, in all her white-haired glory, stands Princess Yue, clad in a long flowing fur dress. Sokka smiles when he sees her, remembering the time he beat up her fiance she didn’t like and watched as she declared to her father that she would not marry someone solely because he chose it for her. They had dated… once, and he knows how badass she is. 

“Yue!” Sokka calls before clearing his throat and dipping down to a respectful bow. Around him, his friends follow suit. “Princess Yue, may I introduce you to Prince Zuko,” he gestures. “And Avatar Aang,” he adds as an afterthought.

Yue bows, a slightly confused expression on her face at Zuko's presence which she immediately smooths as she greets him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she says softly to both of them. Katara goads the chief into letting them steal Yue away and then they’re off, melting into the crowd.

There’s a tsungi horn player blowing a cheerful tune as the five of them stroll through the beautifully lit street. As they walk, more instruments join in, until they can almost feel the music in their bones. Zuko and Aang exchange a sad smile. “Toph would love this.”

“We’ll sneak her here next year!” Sokka promises and leads them through the crowd, weaving between musician and food sellers and artists scattered around. 

They end up in the middle of the square, fairy light strung around the buzzing square, a grand ice sculpture in the center. There are people dancing, arm in arm, wide smiles on their faces. 

Katara tugs Aang off to the side, and Suki reappears from the crowd, Yue grinning at her presence. Sokka turns to the side and spots Zuko, grinning and stretching his arms out. “Dance with me!”

Zuko flushes, red dusting the tips of his nose and the apples of his cheek, as he walks into his friend, grinning as a pair of strong arms drop onto his shoulders. 

He doesn’t know how to dance, not really. This isn’t the strict, rigid movements of the government mandated balls, all coordinated steps at just the right time. It is the only dance the government allows, for him at least, and Zuko’s never learnt anything else.

Sokka moves like water, like there is a stream flowing through his body, from his arms to his hips. His hands are swung around Zuko's shoulders, as he lets his limbs flow: freely and smoothly. 

Zuko’s never learnt anything else but he’s willing to try. He mimics the flow of his arms, and the swing of his hips and a small crinkle appears at the corner of Sokka’s eyes as he watches him. 

There’s a shout from behind, a call of, “Is there a firebender here?” that makes them break apart. They spot a man, holding a container of fireworks, gazing around the crowd. Sokka nudges Zuko to go forward and he does, summoning small flames at the tip of his finger and pushing them, watching as the strings burn up.

He turns around as the sky erupts into light: whites, silvers and pale blues. He meets Sokka in the middle of the square again, and is handed a small glass. 

“Saké,” Sokka yells over the noise and the two of them take a drink together, grinning into their cups. Sokka tags down a server and grabs more glasses, thrusting them into Zuko’s hand with a wink. They drink and they laugh, exchanging jokes and poking fun at the crowd around them as the music crescendos, and a pleasant buzz builds in their heads, the alcohol succeeding in its task. 

They’re about to return to their original dancing position when a delicate hand appears on Sokka’s shoulder. “I’m wasted,” Yue mumbles, slamming her forehead into Sokka’s shoulder, and giggling into it. “Father’s going to kill me.”

Sokka smiles and turns to her. “Hell, yeah! That’s what I’m talking about,” he grins, as she shifts and collapses into him, torso going boneless. 

Sokka looks to the side, going to share a joke or exchange a look with Zuko, only to see that he’s not there. Sokka looks around and in the distance, spots a fluffy blue coat disappear into one of the quieter side streets. 

He calls for Suki, and then deposits Yue’s floppy form onto her, turning to follow the prince.

He finds Zuko in a deserted corner, leaning against an ice pillar and looking up to the sky. He looks small bundled up in such a large coat, the hood pulled up and the furs brushing his forehead.

“Hey,” Sokka greets, sitting next to him. Zuko returns the greeting with a short nod, arms winding around his knees as he returns his gaze to the sky. “It was pretty hectic over there, huh?” Sokka tries, lightly bumping his shoulder with Zuko’s and looking up as well. “This is nice.”

There is a moment of quiet, the two boys silently looking up to the sky-full of stars as distant ambient noises from the continuing festivities drift past them. Then, Zuko speaks up, propping his chin onto his tucked knees. “Do you ever wonder what it would be like if we were just ordinary people? If your parents weren’t the Chieftains and my father wasn’t the Fire Lord?” He pauses, lifting his head and angling it towards Sokka. “What do you think you would be?”

“Hmm I don’t know,” Sokka considers. “I would probably be an inventor. You know, fuck the politics and all the diplomacy stuff I have to do and lock myself up in a workshop, only to emerge three weeks later with something that will change the world, and all that.”

Zuko cracks a smile. “That makes a lot of sense,” he huffs and gently knocks their shoulders together. “I… would like to be a playwright,” he confesses quietly.

“Oooh, like the plays you told me about?” Sokka asks, watching the other boy flush. “I think you’d be great at it!”

Zuko’s smile turns bitter as he uncurls his legs and leans back into the pillar. “But I can’t, can I? My life has been set out for me since before I was born. I’m not… I’m not allowed to  _ want _ . Anything.”

“What do you mean? You could still write? I mean, it would probably have to be under a different name but—”

“That’s not what I mean,” Zuko mumbles. “I can’t make any decisions for myself. I can’t choose what to do, where to go. I can’t choose to love.”

Sokka laughs slightly and he feels the buzz of the saké bounce around his skull. “You mean,  _ you _ can’t get a date? You’re like,” he waves his hands in front of him in a vague sort of gesture, “the Fire Nation’s beloved Prince. They love you, dude, I’m sure you’ll find someone you’re interested in!”

“I have,” Zuko admits. “But in my position, I can’t afford to pursue who I like.”

A confused crinkle appears between Sokka’s brows and he turns to face his friend. “Is this a nobility thing?”

“Yes and no, but if it was solely a problem of nobility, it could be overturned,” comes the response. He sounds stiff, like he does in his letters. It feels like he’s put on a mask and Sokka would do anything to take it off. “I have… responsibilities to the throne,” Zuko continues. “Responsibilities that mean that I can’t... be with the person I want to be with.”

“Am I just drunk,” Sokka snorts, “or does that make no sense?” He giggles a little, reaching forward to bop Zuko’s nose. “Just tell me who you like, dumbass, you don’t have to be so cryptic.”

And then, in an instant, Zuko pushes forward, pressing their forehead together as he cups Sokka’s jaw. He pauses. He looks so soft like this, under the starlight with the festival lights in the background, but there is something in his eyes, something intense and hungry.

“ _ Oh _ ,” Sokka murmurs, because he’s drunk not stupid, and then they’re kissing.

It’s soft in a way he hadn’t imagined it would be, not that he thought of kissing Zuko often, and he’s frozen for a split second, before he sinks into it, arms coming up to swing around his shoulders like when they were dancing earlier.

The sound around them melts away as the lights fade until all he can see and hear and feel is  _ Zuko, Zuko, Zuko. _ Hands cupping his cheeks and soft breaths fanning over his face, and soft lips on his. 

And then it ends. Zuko jerks back like he’s been hit. “I’m— I’m sorry, I’m so—” he mumbles, scrambling up to his feet. Sokka realizes he’s crying, rows of tears slipping down his cheeks, but before he can say anything, Zuko’s gone, melting into the crowd and disappearing into the night.

_ Oh _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm going to bump the rating of this up to M? I usually rate my fics T by default bc even though I like to swear, the fics are pretty vanilla but rwrb has some sex scenes and I don’t feel like i can completely ignore it, you know? It won't Ever be detailed enough to be rated E, it won’t even be as detailed as canon is but it's better to be safe than sorry, right? To the people that have read rwrb: thoughts? 
> 
> Once again, I am but a humble fic writer living off the land and comments and kudos are my crops, so I'll appreciate anything you have to offer. Thanks for reading!


	4. zuko, stop avoiding your problems by leaving the country challenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> once again, yes, this is what you've been waiting for but is it really? (we're getting there, I promise)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is now officially my longest fic on ao3! that's so fun thanks for being on this journey with me!! 
> 
> Please note the rating change!! There is a non-explicit sex scene at the end of this chapter. It’s only like,, a few paragraphs but I bumped the rating of this up to M just to be safe? Please let me know if this bothers you!

Sokka is running.

He’s heard daily runs are good for the body and soul or whatever, but if he’s being honest, that’s really not why he’s doing it. 

It’s the morning after the Glacier Spirits Festival and Sokka is tired, a little hungover, and really confused. Aang is still here, as was planned, but Zuko left the night before, claiming royal duties… right after he kissed Sokka.

It wasn’t a bad kiss. He liked the feeling of it, Zuko’s lips against his, the big coat shifting under his touch. It felt good, fulfilling, like he’d almost been waiting for it to happen.

But he hadn’t. He didn’t think of Zuko like that, of men in general… right? There were moments in his life where he could pinpoint exactly when he was definitely attracted to women. His first kiss with Yue, his first time with Suki, his first crush on his neighbor from when he was seven. 

But, Spirits, he had _really_ enjoyed his kiss with Zuko. Enough to send him a letter first thing in the morning with one of the Water Tribe messenger birds. 

_Zuko,_

_Why’d you run away, asshole? If you had just stayed, then we could have talked it out like the grownass adults that we are and everything would have been fine._

_I don’t want to say it in a letter because Water Tribe messenger birds really aren’t as cutthroat on the security as your hawks are but please write back to me Zuko. I don’t want to lose you._

_Get back to me when you get this,_

_Sokka_

And, with the only thing on his agenda crossed off, leaves him alone with his thoughts. Hence the running.

His feet pound onto the ground, a shallow ache crawling up his calves. Could he pinpoint similar moments in his life where he was attracted to men? The days he spent with Teo while he studied under the Mechanist, maybe. The boy he’d met at an Earth Kingdom village during some event when he was twelve, Haru, showing off his new earthbending training.

The day with Zuko in Caldera City, laughing as they walked closer than they needed to. Zuko under the bright Festival lights, grinning up at the fireworks. Zuko kissing him under the moonlight, rough firebender hands cradling his face.

He runs faster, until his legs tremble, ready to give out. 

“Who lit your ass on fire?” calls a familiar voice. Katara jogs up to him as he slows down, her joking expression morphing into concern as she takes in his appearance. She frowns. “Are you okay?” she asks softly.

_Is_ he okay? He feels like he’s learning himself all over again and that shouldn’t be happening this late. Don’t most people figure this stuff out as a teenager? He thinks of himself at fifteen, at sixteen, and now, at twenty. All those years and he didn’t even think about liking boys?

“Sokka?” asks Katara, growing more worried by the second.

He thinks of Zuko: his little frown when he doesn’t understand something, the way his eyes skitter around the room when he’s trying to think of something to say, the way he holds his chin up when he’s trying to appear confident, how his eyes light up when he talks about something he loves.

He just figured out he likes boys. And, on top of that, one boy in particular. He cracks a small smile and hopes it’ll calm his sister down. “I’m okay,” he tells Katara.

He’s really not. There’s so much he still has to figure out: his sexuality, his feelings, and all that comes with it. But, he thinks, as his mind drifts to a pair of golden eyes, he’s getting there. 

* * *

“So,” Sokka says, tapping lightly on Suki’s door. She’s supposed to be leaving soon, returning to Kyoshi Island while the Water Tribe siblings stay at home. He won’t see her till the state dinner later this month and he figures he should get this conversation out of the way now.

“So,” Suki echoes, looking at him with interest, pausing in her packing. 

Sokka takes a deep breath. “You like men and women both, right?” 

“Like, to befriend or, you know, carnally?” she jokes. She’s trying to lighten whatever dark expression has probably settled on his face, a mixture of confusion and hesitance and frustration and terror. 

It works, and he cracks a smile. “You know what I mean,” he mumbles.

“Yeah, I’m bisexual,” she confirms, as if it’s the easiest thing in the world to say, like she’s saying her name or her age. She raises a single eyebrow. “And… what about it?”

He takes a deep breath, in, out, then in again, and on the exhale says, as calmly as he can, “Thoughts on me being the same way?”

Suki blinks, once, twice, three times. “Did you… did you just figure that out?”

Sokka opens his mouth and gapes, closing it and opening it again like an astounded fish. “What do you mean, did I just figure that out?”

“I mean, I don’t like assuming,” she says, “but I always thought you knew. I thought that was why you were so obsessed with Prince Zuko.” She pauses before perking up as a realization hits her. “Wait,” she says, holding a finger up as if making a point, “what brought this on?”

Sokka grimaces. “So… “ he sing-songs, “you may have been right? He kissed me last night.”

  
  


Suki breaks out into a big smile, wide and sunny against the cool interior of her room at the Southern Water Tribe. “Oooh tell me more!” she exclaims, perching her face on the palm of her hand resting on her knee. 

Sokka frowns. “Wait, are you not surprised?”

“I mean, you’re hot, he’s gay, it seems logical.” She rolls her eyes, bringing up a hand to gesture in explanation.

“How do you know he’s gay?” Sokka asks, because he sure as hell didn’t know and he doesn’t think he likes the idea of Suki, who barely knows Zuko, knowing more about him than Sokka does.

Suki’s expression morphs to one of confusion. “Shit, am I making assumptions again? I just… thought so?” she asks, the end of her sentence quirking up. Then, her face abruptly shifts again and she smirks at Sokka. “Don’t think I don’t notice you changing the subject. Tell me more, how was it? Did you like it? Was there tongue?”

Sokka lets out a breathless laugh. “I… yeah, I liked it,” he says with a smile. “And, yeah there was tongue, but he ran away right afterward.”

At this, Suki frowns. “Did you not kiss him back?”

“Of course I did,” he says. “Have you seen him?”

She pauses to smile, like she knows something he doesn’t, but forges on. “Then, what’s the issue?”

“I don’t know!” he exclaims, throwing his hand up. “He just kissed me and ran away and he didn’t even let me say anything. Do you think he regrets it?” His hands go up to his uptied hair and he clutches on to the soft strands. “Suki,” he says as he looks to her, wide-eyed. “What if he regrets it, I can’t do that to him!”

“I think,” she says slowly, “ you’re right. But not in the way that you think.”

“Suki, that doesn’t make any sense!” Sokka all-but yells, tugging at his hair a little.

“Listen,” she begins, “the Fire Nation has… a lot of expectations of their royals. I know you’re also technically a prince but you don’t have as many responsibilities on your head as he does on his, no pressure of being perfect and producing the perfect heirs and all that. He probably thought he, you know, ruined your life, or his own life by kissing you.”

“He did talk about, what was it, duties to the throne,” he remembers, before the wide-eyed look returns. “Shit, Suki, I don’t wanna ruin his life!”

“Just,” she reaches over and tugs his hands away from his hair. Years ago, when they were seventeen and thought they could take on the world, this gesture would have been romantic. But now, Sokka feels nothing but grateful at managing to keep one of his best friends by his side all these years. “Talk to him about this, okay? You guys should work this out together, either mutually agree to stay friends or kiss and make up. I can’t fix this, Sokka.”

“How do I talk to him, though? It’s not like he’s going to agree to meet me.”

Suki smirks and ruffles his hair. “Talk to him somewhere he _has_ to be. Somewhere like, I don’t know,” she muses slyly, “the mandatory state dinner in _his_ country coming up in a few weeks, or something like that.”

“Suki, you’re a genius!” Sokka exclaims and dives into a hug, wrapping his arms around her. She’s a comforting presence by his side and Sokka grounds himself through her presence. 

There’s a soft knock on the open door. The two turn to see Yue, smiling up at them. “Am I interrupting something?” she asks. Sokka extends his arm to her, urging her to step into the hug as well.

She does, albeit hesitantly, and Sokka grins. He dated her even before Suki, when they were both fifteen and stupid, thinking they could last their whole lives with only love. He still loves her, but not like that, not anymore. “Why are we hugging?” she asks, words muffled against his arm. 

“Suki has more brains than I ever will,” Sokka mumbles into her hair.

Yue smirks. “And that’s a surprise…?”  
  


“Ouch,” he whines, pulling away. “Why would you metaphorically stab me like that?” he jokes, clasping at his chest for the drama.

The room dissolves into laughter, joy circling in the air. Sokka looks down at the two women he used to love, that he still loves in a different way, and feels a sense of contentment curl up in his chest. He has his friends, he has his family, there is just one missing piece. A stubborn, beautiful, firebender-sized piece.

“I just came to say goodbye,” Yue says, tugging Sokka out of his thoughts. “This is one of the only times of year I get to see you all. I’ll miss you.”

“Aw Yue,” Suki croons, pulling her into a tight side-hug. “We’ll miss you too!” Sokka waits for a moment before joining on her other side and for a minute, the three are squished together in a little Yue sandwich. 

And then, Yue, in her soft voice says, completely seriously, “Now what was that about kissing the Fire Prince?”

* * *

Sokka is impatient, tapping his feet erratically onto the carpeted floor. It feels strange being back on Fire Nation ground, and he feels off-center and unsettled. Next to him, Suki tamps down on his moving foot with her own. “Relax, he’ll be here.” 

On the surface, at least, Sokka knows that. He knows that this is a very important state dinner between all of the four nations and the Prince of the Fire Nation is required to be there, especially if it’s being held in his country. But… that doesn’t help the wriggling anxiety in his chest. Maybe Zuko will come up with a reason to not be here, to not be near _Sokka_. Maybe he’ll say he’s sick, or has to do something else, or—

And that’s when he sees him. 

He looks… beautiful (Sokka can admit that now), clad in red and gold, cheeks slightly flushed. Sokka rises and goes to greet him, corner him, maybe demand answers if he’s feeling particularly dramatic, but he can’t. Zuko spots him and turns bright red, walking in the complete opposite direction. 

Sokka crashes back down to where he was seated. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. His eyes crack open as a small smile threatens to appear on his lips. He turns to Suki. “Can you con him into being alone in a room with me?” 

Suki grins, and springs up to her feet. 

To his left, Katara frowns. “What happened between you and Zuko?”

“Doesn’t matter.” He shakes his head. “I’m going to fix it.”

After dinner ends, and the guests are left to mingle, Suki meets his eyes from across the dinner hall, and offers him a wink and a thumbs up, gesturing to a nearby door into the portrait room. Sokka is off his ass and marching to the room before he can even process it.

He slams open the door and marches in, letting it close shut behind him. He’s ready to speak his mind, yell and scream and demand answers, when Zuko flinches. “I— If you’re going to hit me, get it over with,” he mumbles, gesturing with his hand.

Immediately, Sokka softens. “Why would I hit you?” he asks, frowning as he steps closer. He raises his hand and is met with another flinch.

He cups Zuko’s jaw softly, watching as the other boy relaxes under his touch, and then places a gentle hand on his shoulder as well. “I’m not going to hit you,” he whispers softly, and then they’re back up, taking steps together, until Sokka’s back hits a wall, right next to one of the portrait frames. 

“I’m sorry,” Zuko murmurs. At Sokka’s questioning glance, he elaborates. “For kissing you. For running away.” He pauses for a moment. “Judging by this,” he pushes his cheek gently against the soft hand cupping it, “I guess, I’m mostly sorry about running away.”

“Try again,” Sokka whispers, because this moment seems precious, somehow, more suited to a whisper. 

Zuko frowns, stiffening slightly. “You want me to… run away again?” 

Sokka rolls his eyes goodnaturedly and laughs softly. “No, dumbass. Kiss me again.”

And he does. It’s tentative and hesitant, unaided by alcohol in his bloodstream this time, but still as soft. There is just the right amount of pressure against his lips, as the tentative brush deepens. Sokka feels a leg being pushed between his and he grins against cherry-soft lips. 

They come apart for air and then Zuko is giggling into Sokka’s shoulder, making his grin widen. At his questioning look, Zuko elaborates by cocking his head up to the portrait they’re so unceremoniously pressed up next to, a portrait of Fire Lord Sozin, in all his war-mongering regalia.

Sokka joins in at the laughter as Zuko mutters, “Spirits, he would have hated this,” into his shoulder.

“Isn’t that the best reason to do everything? Making your ancestors roll in their graves?” Sokka jokes and then they’re kissing again, warm and deep and all-consuming. 

With a knock, the door cracks open a sliver, just enough to let in a small bit of light, and Suki’s bright voice floats in. “Guests are coming in here in about five minutes!” she chirps, inching the door shut again.

The boys break apart, heavy breaths fanning over each other’s mouths. Sokka is the first to speak, exhaling heavily. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to stay as far away from each other as we can during this whole thing so I don’t do something stupid like accidentally jump you in front of everyone here,” he murmurs, causing Zuko to let out soft laughs fanning over Sokka’s mouth. 

He tamps down the urge to kiss him again. They have a rendezvous to plan, he can’t get distracted. (He leans down to press a soft kiss to the tip of Zuko’s nose anyway, just because he can.) “Then,” he continues, clearing his throat as a blush creeps onto his cheeks, “You are going to pay me visit in my guest chambers at precisely ten tonight, and then we can continue this,” he says, and then awkwardly adds on, “if you want.”

  
Zuko smiles softly and nods. They separate, smoothing out ill-placed wrinkles. They wait by the door as it opens and blend in with the crowd as it filters in. _Ten tonight_ , Sokka says to himself, almost vibrating with excitement, _ten tonight_.

* * *

Sokka is pacing, the red and gold rug scratching against his bare feet. He doesn’t know if Zuko will come, doesn’t know if he’s having second thoughts and will never want to see him again, and the rug is bearing the burden of his troubles.

It is then that he hears it. Three knocks, sharp and succinct on the door of his guest chambers. It is a few minutes before ten, and Zuko is here.

Sokka opens the door, his smile dipping slightly when he catches the troubled look on Zuko’s face. “Find your way okay?” he asks even though it’s his own _fucking_ palace, trying to sound as casual as he can and hoping his heart doesn’t give out.

“Yeah,” Zuko answers, a small smile flitting across his features. “You would think so, given that it is my home, but I really don’t know the guest wing very well. There was a very helpful member of your tribe around the corner, though. I think his name was Bato?” 

Sokka blushes, his eyes widening. He knows Bato wouldn’t tell anyone, he’s not like that, but he can’t say he looks forward to the teasing looks he’ll get from now on. He tries to drown out his blush with a smirk as he focuses his attention on the beautiful boy in front of him. “Well,” he says, tilting his head to the side in a way he hopes seems confident. “Are you gonna stay by the door all night?”

Zuko steps into the room and closes the door behind him, leaning back against it. There’s a brief moment of stiff silence and Sokka fears the worst. He’s just about to speak up when Zuko shifts, straightening his spine and sticking his chin out like he’s ready to face the world by himself. 

It’s a look Sokka remembers hating and thinking was cocky and bored, but now, as he looks at his face, he can tell it for what it really is: an armor of confidence to hide whatever anxiety is brewing inside. “Are you going to kiss me, or what?” he asks and Sokka would be a fool not to listen.

Their lips connect like magnets, like there is an inherent pull between the two points and Sokka could drown in it. He remembers being young, maybe six or seven and falling into freezing water. He remembers the cold winding around his limbs and dragging him down. He remembers being pulled out, remembers the first breath of fresh, unhurried air. He can feel it now: the cool touch of losing control, the blinding thrill of being alive.

He feels fingertips trailing down his arm, delicate and curious, shifting over muscles and joints. He trails his own hands up to thin shoulders and tugs at the smooth red silk. “You plan on taking this off?” he whispers against soft lips and grins when he feels the tremors of the responding hum. 

“You first,” Zuko says. There is something different about him, something in the ridge of his shoulders and the quirk of his brow but Sokka would be lying if he said he didn’t love it.

They come to a compromise and both sets of clothes cascade to the floor, a flurry of reds and blues. Then, Sokka feels himself being pushed, gently but insistently by a pair of calloused hands and his face splits into a wide grin as he lands onto the bed. “Didn’t know you had that in you,” he teases, tucking a hand behind his head and looking up casually. 

“You don’t know a lot of things,” Zuko murmurs, climbing in as well. 

Sokka gasps dramatically. “Was that a dig about _me_? During sexytimes? For shame, jerkbender,” he tuts, before looking down and nodding at the silent question. 

And then, he loses all higher functions of thought. Because, _spirits_.

He realizes he’s murmuring. Pet names and haikus and monologues from plays he’s seen, all blending together into one bleary mess. He wants to thank whatever shady gay noble taught the fucking Fire Prince to do all of _that_ and send him a gift basket, maybe some flowers. _Lavender heather, and red poppies, and bluebells, and peach roses and—_

His limbs stiffen and then promptly turn to jello as he feels heavy breaths fanning over his face. There’s a face next to his, bright golden eyes and loose smile and Sokka struggles to regain his breath. “Give me a second,” he pants, “and I’ll return the favor.” He pauses for a moment, frowning, his brain still trying to regain all its higher functions. “I mean, I’ve never done it before so it might not be the best, but,”

“You don’t have to,” comes the immediate response and Sokka frowns. 

He brings a clumsy hand up to cup the beautifully angled jaw and runs his thumb over the sharp cheekbone. “Look at me,” he says seriously as restless golden eyes land on tender blue. “Do you want me to?” he asks softly. Zuko sputters and blushes. “I’m going to need an answer, buddy.”

He sputters again at ‘buddy’ but stays quiet otherwise. And then, after a moment, murmurs, “Yes. Please. If you want,” so softly that it almost goes unheard.

_Almost_ because Sokka wants. He realizes he’s had his second and caught his breath, and props himself up onto his elbow, busying himself with watching the shifts in Zuko’s face as his hand wanders.

His jaw is clenched, not in a way that looks like it hurts, but in the proper aristocratic way, like he’s been trained to hold himself that way. Sokka knows the angle is awkward but he can’t help but stare deep into the eyes of the boy underneath him, letting his gaze flit over the curve of his lips and the way he bites it, over his golden eyes and long, fluttering eyelashes.

He sees those lashes flicker and the bite of his lip deepen, and feels his breath ghost over Sokka’s face. He leans down to kiss him as he arches upward, pushing their bodies together. And then, they collapse, down, down, into a heap of loose limbs and soft smiles. 

Sokka rolls over, letting his head hit a pillow as he grins. “I should probably tell you that I’m bisexual, huh?” he says.

“I’m… gay,” Zuko admits, his eyes trail down to the expanse of Sokka’s skin as if he’s reminding himself of it. “Really, very gay.” And then, they’re laughing, because really they’re friends first and whatever-this-is second, and laughter, at least, is familiar.

There is a moment of comfortable silence before Zuko begins to speak, a troubled sort of expression on his face. “Sokka, uh, this— I can’t...” 

Sokka waits for a moment to let him finish his thought but when the ending never comes, he feels the need to intervene. He knows what’s coming. “This doesn’t have to mean anything,” he says. “We’re still friends, just with added… benefits. Let’s do this again, some other time. If you want.”

An emotion flits through Zuko’s features, but Sokka can’t tell what exactly it is, not particularly negative but not really positive either. But then, the troubled frown fades and Zuko smiles softly. “Okay, yeah, some other time,” he says softly before awkwardly pulling himself up. “I, uh, should probably,” he gestures at their jumbled pile of clothes. 

Sokka nods. “I’d be down for you to spend the night but I really don’t wanna wake up with one of Mai’s knives in my face,” he jokes.

Zuko nods, gingerly draping his robes onto his body. “Yeah probably not a very good idea to kidnap the Fire Prince,” he says before letting out a breathless laugh. “Oh if my ancestors could see me now,” he giggles as he secures his robes around his waist.

“Hmm, _curse the barbarian for corrupting our dear prince_ ,” Sokka chortles, imitating a gruff old man with the posh royal accent he’s heard around the palace.

Zuko scoffs, smoothing down his hair. “As if you did any of the corrupting,” he jokes. 

“I corrupted plenty!” comes the dramatic protest, which is met with a doubtful hum, followed by a soft laugh. Sokka musters a smile, as innocent as he can, though it still comes off as teasing.

And then, something shifts. Zuko stands by the door, awkwardly hovering, as if he wants to say something but is too afraid. He’s ready by now, back into the prim and proper Fire Prince regalia, hands clasped. Sokka smiles. He thinks he should get a medal for his achievements in reading the Fire Prince. “Dude, you can kiss me goodnight.”

And he does. It’s nothing like their other kisses, not the raw emotion of the first, the curiosity of the second, or the lust of the others. It’s chaste, soft, like they do this every day, like they plan to do this every day. It’s a gentle pressure, calming in a way that can’t be described. 

Hesitantly, Zuko pulls away, face framed by the moonlight, the scar reflecting the bright rays. And then, without further ceremony, he slips out of the door, leaving Sokka to himself to sink into the unfamiliar sheets, close his eyes, and sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please let me know what you think of this. the comments so far have been !!!so nice!! I kjhgdgfgddfgd
> 
> your kudos and comments will get me through the summer :)


	5. we've miles to go together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> an intermission, of sorts (ft. love letters, pet names, and dreams)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took a little bit longer than usual. I didn't have any of this chapter prewritten and it's quite long compared to the others but I hope this was worth the wait! 
> 
> I included bits and pieces of japanese poetry in this because in the book, alex and henry exchange excerpts from love letters and I was a bit sad that I couldn't do that due to this being canonverse until I remembered a whole chunk of beautiful literature I was missing! The authors of them are mentioned in the text, but I don't mention the translators because I got these all from different corners of the internet so if you spot a mistake, or a different translation you think would work better, please let me know, I'm not married to one version! I don't list the dates here either but I tried to make sure most of these poems were written before the 19th century, because LOK has a 1920's vibe and that's what I'm sort of basing this around? (so around the 1850s-60s ish).

_Sokka_ , 

_I’ve been training under Master Piandao with my dao blades for a few years now, and every year, he hosts a sort of sword fighting competition among some of his students. It’s quite a large affair, I’ll admit, and I’m allowed to invite a few guests to view the competition._

_Unfortunately, my sister is required to be one of them, but luckily Toph someone managed to convince her parents to let her come as well, even though she wouldn’t be able to see it. It’s not very far from where you are; Master Piandao makes sure to host it somewhere that is easily accessible to all four nations (well, all three, given the Air Nomads’ decentralized position and pacifist nature), and I would be honored if you were there as well._

_You don’t have to, of course, but I would love to see you. I know we said, “some other time” but we could, if you want, define the terms of that? Although, I’m not sure if “some other time” was just you being nice, or something along those lines, so you can definitely ignore this paragraph, if that is._

_Again, no pressure, I promise I won’t be upset if you decline this invitation. If you do decide to come along though, I’ve attached the ticket to the event, along with all the necessary information._

_Think it over?_

_Prince Zuko_

* * *

_Zuko,_

_I’ll be there. Of course, I’ll be there. I haven’t seen you in forever, AND, I bet you look sexy weilding a sword (two swords? Even sexier). Your sister and Toph both look like they could crack me open like a toasted walnut, but I’ll be right there with them, front row, cheering you on. At least I have the advantage of being out in the open on my side, I know they both have reputations to maintain, and hopefully, they wouldn’t attempt murder me where people can see them. (Hopefully.)_

_I also definitely want to define the terms of “some other time” especially because there are swords involved now, but I hate it that I phrased in that way. I was a little fuzzy in the head, as you can imagine, but no, that was definitely not just me being nice. Not at all._

_I’ll see you there,_

_Sokka :D_

* * *

“Oh, look, it’s Zuzu’s new friend!” croons a voice as Sokka tentatively shimmies into the stands. It’s Princess Azula, her face framed by her bangs as she looks him up and down. Sokka can feel her judgement roll over him in thick uncomfortable waves and he frantically looks around for someone to help. 

Mai is unhelpful as always, and the bubbly smiling girl sitting next to Azula probably wouldn’t be on his side either. He spots an empty seat next to Toph Beifong and considers his options. Zuko likes Toph, at least more than he likes Azula, if his letters are anything to go by. He trusts Zuko’s judgement. 

He hesitantly takes a seat next to her, smiling nervously before remembering that she can’t see him. She looks very formal, like she’s dressed for a fancy dinner rather than a sports arena. 

He thinks maybe he should announce his presence to her, he’s not enough of a dick to intentionally startle a blind person, when she speaks. “So, you’re Zuko’s boytoy,” she says, her voice lowered to a whisper in a clear effort to keep Azula out of the loop. 

Sokka’s eyes widen as he splutters. “Relax,” Toph dismisses, “I won’t say anything, obviously.” She looks at him flatly and he forgets she’s blind, again.

“Uh, okay,” he mumbles out. “Thanks?” he says hesitantly, blanking on what exactly to say to a girl calling you her best friend’s boytoy. He doesn’t know how to feel about that title, but he doesn’t hate it, not quite. 

Sokka notices the crowd get louder and he realizes that it’s starting. With Toph somewhat on his side, he lets himself relax slightly into his chair as he looks down at the field. 

Sokka’s glad this is actually an activity he’s mildly interested in because for the first half hour, Zuko’s nowhere to be seen. He lets the cheering of the crowd and the clanging of the metal slowly lull him down until the tension in his shoulder dissolves.

And then he sees him. He’s clad in armor of metal and leather, arms clenched around two identical curving swords. Sokka barely pays attention to his opponent as he charges, limbs moving like gentle rolling waves, blades clashing like the gentleness shattering on harsh rock. The muscles of his arm flex under his armor as he dodges a blow, and then brings both his swords up, wielding like they’re an extension of his very being, as he strikes.

“Gross,” Toph whispers to him. Sokka barely looks her way. His face feels uncomfortably warm, more than it was a moment ago, and he vaguely registers that Toph’s other senses must be sharpened and that she most definitely knows what he’s thinking, but he ignores it in favor of watching.

Zuko flies into the air and does an overly dramatic flip, twisting as he swings his sword, one after the other. It looks, very distinctly, like a dance, the way his feet moved from side to side in a complicated pattern, dodging and striking at the same time.

He blocks a strike with one of his swords, jumping slightly before jabbing the other blade towards his opponent, and then using his feet to knock them to the ground. Sokka grins. 

The end of the match finds a sweaty Zuko climbing his way up the stands to meet his friends. He sheaths his swords as Toph goes to him and meets him in a hug, grimacing as she realizes just how sweaty he is. “Nice job, Sparky,” she says, actually smiling as she reaches up to ruffle his hair. 

She pulls away as Azula saunters over and Sokka immediately sees Zuko’s shoulders tense. “Yes, yes, not bad, Zuzu,” she says and for a moment he foolishly things that is all she’s going to say. He’s wrong, of course. “Although, a bit dramatic, if you ask me. Really, what were those flourishes for? It’s not like you had,” she side-eyes Sokka, “respectable company to impress.”

Sokka’s about to give her a piece of his mind, tell her where she can shove her _respectable company_ , when Zuko grabs his arm. “Sokka,” he says through grit teeth as he pulls him into a hug, resting his head on Sokka’s shoulder. He lowers his voice to a whisper. “How do you feel about spiting my family,” he murmurs lowly into his ear. 

Sokka grins. “Fucking love doing this out of spite,” he says, and pulls back, smoothing his hand down Zuko’s bicep.

Azula tracks the movement with a raised brow and then, without any further comment, meets Sokka’s eyes, smirks, and then spins on her heel to walk away. 

Sokka ignores her and instead turns to Zuko, squeezing his shoulder in what looks to be a friendly gesture. (He doesn’t miss all the eyes on them, and he knows this will be teatime gossip by tomorrow.) “So,” he says, “Are you bringing the swords?” 

Zuko turns bright red, mouth opening and closing like a particularly adorable fish in the face of Sokka’s smug smirk. “The… the swords? hm, right, uh, the swo—Yes! I’m— of course,” he stammers, his shoulders relaxing. 

Toph fake gags. Or maybe real gags, he can’t tell. “Keep it to yourself. I don’t want to hear this. Bye bye Sparky,” she says, turning abruptly and gesturing to some of her guards.

Sokka laughs goodnaturedly before meeting Mai’s eyes. She looks hesitant, and something else he can’t quite pinpoint, but eventually nods, the corner of her mouth quirking up just a little. 

Sokka tugs Zuko away. “I don’t know if I like the idea of everyone knowing what we’re, uh, doing,” he mutters.

“I would rather not get murdered today, not by your scary knife bodyguard or your terrifying best friend,” Sokka says in response. “And besides, we’re just talking. You know, defining the terms of… _some other time_ ,” he says, and pulls his companion into the darkness of a nearby cupboard.

* * *

_Zuko,_

_I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m almost glad your great-grandfather tried to take over the world and now we all have to attend a barrage of diplomatic events to keep tensions mellow, because at least this way, I can see you again. (At one point, one does run out of excuses to travel across the world to see their “friend”.)_

_I can’t believe I haven’t seen your face in months, jerkbender, I kind of miss it. (I kind of miss a lot of things. Your face, your hair, your mouth. Amongst others. I have to physically hold myself back from drawing in a winking face here by the way, I hope you know.)_

_Anyway, please tell me you’re going to be at Ember Island in the coming weeks for the summit. I know it’s going to be really boring, but I read ahead and apparently, the Ember Island Players are putting on Love Amongst the Dragons the day after the summit and I know you love that play. I thought we could see it together? I need to have knowledge of your favorite play, Zuko, I can’t be caught being a fake!_

_So: you, me, a boring diplomacy summit, and your favorite play. What do you say?_

_Please say yes,_

_Sokka_

_P.S.: Dad got me and Katara a bunch of books from Ba Sing Se. Some of them were poetry collections. Anyway, this haiku made me think of you: “Come, butterfly, it's late- We've miles to go together.” (Matsuo Bashō. I think he was Fire Nation?)_

* * *

_Sokka,_

_The Ember Island Players always butcher Love Amongst the Dragons, but I suppose, if you’re going to be there, we could try seeing it. Be warned that I will be providing commentary of everything they ruin or get wrong and if it is worse than last time, you might have to hold me back from giving the producers a piece of my mind._

_I have to say, I think you’ve struck gold with those poetry books. Matsuo Bashō was a brilliant Fire Nation poet from before Sozin’s campaign against anything good and beautiful in the world. I think he perceived art as something that would radicalize the masses against his regime and honestly? He was right. Uncle says Sozin had made an attempt to replace the fuel for our inner fire with hate. He was right in the notion that it is a good fuel, albeit not a healthy one in the long term, but wrong to think that art and beauty could ever truly be erased from the human psyche. Art, in all its forms, I think, is what truly defines our humanity, and Sozin was a fool to think he could ever be rid of it. Poets keep writing, painters keep painting, and art still prevails._

_Sorry for the tangent, I’m sure you didn’t want to read that all. I don’t mean to bother you with my ramblings, you can feel free to ignore this letter if you’d like. But, I am quite fond of the arts, and critical of Sozin and his policies, even though as the Prince, I don’t think I’m allowed to be. I look forward to seeing you at Ember Island, I missed you as well. So much._

_I’ll see you soon, sweetheart._

_Zuko_

_P.S.: I scoured through the palace libraries after receiving your letter and found an old collection of poems stashed in the very back, on the bottom shelf, as if someone went out of their way to hide it amongst boring old tax records. As I said, art still prevails. Of that collection, this made me think of you: “When to my pillow, no friend comes, I lie alone and turn to face the potted plum.” (Masaoka Shiki)_

* * *

_Zuko,_

_I hope you get this before you leave for Ember Island. I know I’ll see you very soon but I have to sit down and write this._

_Don’t apologize for being passionate. I don’t know who told you that you had to be sorry for loving something (that’s a lie, I definitely know who told you, and I’m only refraining from saying it so I can keep some cool) but you don’t have to. I want to see it. I’ve already told you I want to learn more about you._

_You don’t have to hide behind that detached mask anymore, at least with me, you know that right? I hated you for it, at first, the way you used to stick your chin up and flatten your features. I thought you were arrogant, like you thought that you were better than anyone else but I was wrong. It was just a mask, just a locked door to hide all your feelings behind._

_You feel so much, but you hide it away. You shouldn’t have to. Give yourself away sometimes, sweetheart, there’s so much of you._

_(Hmm I thought I would like saying it as much as I like you saying it to me but it feels weird. We’ll workshop that. In the meantime, be nice to yourself and call me sweetheart more.)_

_I have a lot more I want to say to you but I’ll leave that for when I see you again._

_Spirits, I can’t wait to see you again._

_Sokka_

_P.S.: Is this a new tradition now? Exchanging poetry? Guess it is one now. Here it goes: “_ _The rainbow stands, as if you are here, in a moment.” (Takahama Kyoshi)_

  
  


* * *

Sokka is sitting next to a beautiful boy and grinning like he’s been handed the world on a platter. “They completely butchered Noren’s character,” Zuko mutters into his ear, warm breath fanning against his cheek. 

“Mmm tell me more,” Sokka muses, leaning into his side just slightly. They are walking through the narrow streets of Ember Island and Sokka knows, objectively, that he can’t reach over and hold his hand but he really, really wants to. Dinner found them at a small noodle shop by the beach and their windswept conversations carried on as they made their way back.

“He didn’t start out as a good person. The point of his arc is him learning that he is not above mortality and weakness, and that his place as the Dragon Emperor isn’t imperishable. Noren is an arrogant and boastful person who has to learn to be empathetic and emotional as the story progresses. If he begins his journey already finished with his character arc, then what’s the point of the rest of the play?”

“The epic battle scene between him and the Dark Water Spirit?” Sokka tries, still grinning and still desperately stifling the urge to intertwine their hands by fiddling with the poster they received from the play instead. 

“Don’t even get me started on the Dark Water Spirit. Why is he _like_ that? He’s not supposed to be an angsty teenage boy, he’s supposed to be a vengeful immortal deity!”

They approach the cabin they’re supposed to be staying at. Suki, the amazing person she is, arranged his and Zuko’s room to be right next to each other and out of the way of the rest of the rooms (though, she did the same for Katara and Aang too, and Sokka really doesn’t want to be thinking about that). He grins as they enter the house and grabs Zuko’s hand like he’s wanted to for the entire walk here, tugging him towards his room.

Thankfully, everyone else seems to be in their rooms or out, and they can both disappear into a room and jump into bed without any questions being raised. Zuko keeps talking. “It really ruins the stakes if the main villain is just so pathetic, you know? Like, that’s the guy everyone’s afraid of? Him?”

“Hmm,” Sokka hums, offering a grin when they both shift to face each other.

Zuko frowns, pouting just a little and Sokka thinks he just might lose his mind. “Were you listening to me?”

“Of course I was listening to you,” he replies easily. “I told you, I like listening to you.”

“Sweetheart,” comes the reply, a soft whispered sound. Zuko blushes, even as a teasing edge creeps into voice. Sokka leans in to kiss him: a slow, soft thing. It’s languid, like they have all the time in the world, like there is nothing holding them down, and he loves it, loves the feelings of soft lips brushing against his.

They let the kiss deepen and Sokka thanks every spirit there is, as they flip over and sink onto each other, lips still attached.

He forgets they don’t spend the night, so they do.

Sokka wakes up in the morning with an arm slung over his body and he can’t get over how _right_ this feels. It’s just before sunrise, and at first, he doesn’t know why he’s awake at this hour until he feels a body shift from behind him. He groans softly and turns around until their noses are almost touching.

“Why are you awake?” Sokka whines petulantly, draping an arm over his shoulders and tugging him closer. He tries very hard to ignore how domestic this feels; they can’t have this, not like that, they’re not allowed. 

Zuko lets out a soft laugh. “Firebenders rise with the sun,” he whispers, careful to keep the fragile quiet of the room intact. 

Sokka muffles his groans into the soft pillow. “That’s terrible, why would you do that?”

“We draw our power from Agni. So, as she rises, so do we,” Zuko explains softly, cautiously bringing a hand up to brush some of Sokka’s hair from his face. “You look good with your hair down, by the way,” he continues, “I like it.”

“Do you like it enough to stay in bed with me and my perfect hair?” he asks, still half-asleep. At the look he receives, he rolls his eyes, easing his whale-octopus hold. “Okay, _fine,_ ” he murmurs. “I’ll be here, in this warm bed, all by my lonesome…”

If nothing else, it drags a laugh from Zuko as he reluctantly pulls himself up and away from the warm bed. Sokka rolls over, keeping one eye open as he watches his… (lover? friend?) Zuko dress for the day, draping bright red robes over himself and tying up his hair. 

He gets a strange feeling in the pit of his chest, something like longing or want. He thinks he wouldn’t mind getting to see this every day, the beloved Prince constructing himself from the ground up, sheltering the parts only Sokka gets to see through the early morning haze. (Atleast, he thinks it’s just him. They haven’t talked about that. They should.)

“Go back to sleep,” Zuko whispers softly once he finishes, dipping to press a quick kiss to Sokka’s forehead.

“Mmm okay. Have fun with your jerkbending, sunshine,” he murmurs in response, already letting sleep slowly reclaim him. Another second passes before soft lips press onto his and Sokka sighs contentedly.

Then, he’s gone, and the door closes behind him with a low creak. Sokka closes his eyes, clears his mind, and goes back to sleep. 

* * *

_Zuko,_

_Katara’s making fun of me for all the poetry that I’ve been reading but I think she’s just jealous of my newfound intellectualism. There’s something fascinating about the way words are twisted to carve layers of meaning, even with the most simple poems. I made some attempts at haikus but I don’t think any of them are good enough to send across the world so I won’t._

_I started out with nature poems, you know the traditional, springtime ones, some about the winter, about falling trees and bending rivers. But then, I moved on to the love poems. Honestly, I was just looking for something that would have made Sozin cry, because dunking on your ancestors out of spite is my new favorite hobby._

_I haven’t found one yet. At least, not one could top his great-grandson trying to rob a Water Tribe peasant of his virtue against his royal portrait. There are some very beautiful poems though, but, I don’t know, I figured, if Firelord Sozin could handle us, he could probably handle ancient romances._

_I wish you were here, or I was with you. I say this every time, I know, but, this time, I can imagine us by candlelight, reading old poetry. You ranting about the ramifications and cultural contexts of each because you’re a giant nerd like that. The reds and blues of our contrasting clothes intertwining and creating a dizzying but beautiful pattern._

_(You always wear red, did you notice? Is that a Fire Nation thing or a royal family thing? I can’t look at anything red without thinking of you. Fortunately, or maybe, unfortunately, red is hard to come by in the South Pole, but that just makes your memory all the more intense when I do catch a glimpse.)_

_Do you think, in another time, parts of our letters could be appraised in history like those poems from the great lovers of old? (Can I say that? I know we said friends with benefits so I guess it’s not… exclusive, but has there been anyone else for you? There hasn’t been for me, at least. Not since you.)_

_I guess, thinking about history makes me think about how you and I’ll fit into it one day. It’s such a weird concept, of people knowing about us lifetimes after we’ve lived and died._

_History, huh? I bet we could make some._

_Maybe Katara was right, those poetry books are getting to my head. Although, I’m guessing, if you’ve gotten to this point, you don’t really care. I hope you’re doing well._

_Sokka_

_P.S.: “I picked an azalea, and brought it home. Now when I contemplate it, in its crimson dye, I see the color of my lover’s robe.” (Lady Izumi Shikibu)_

* * *

_Dear Sokka,_

_You don’t understand how much I love it when you get passionate about poetry, and I hope it’s worth the little bit of teasing. I’m quite positive that actively wanting to discredit a late Firelord’s legacy and make his spirit want to go into the light is some sort of royal sacrilege, but, he would have despised me anyway, so maybe it doesn’t matter._

_I must say, I’m quite fond of the idea of being etched into history on the merit of these letters, if they’re discovered one day. I think too much of the Fire Nation has had their legacies built on cruelty and bloodshed, rather than something softer, like our… love letters, if you’d call them that. I think maybe red is a royal family custom, something to show for our atrocities._

_(Would you call them love letters? There hasn’t been anyone else for me either. Not since you.)_

_Being remembered in this way… it is something I would have stayed up dreaming about as a boy, in the depth of night when I let myself have those kinds of dreams. I remember one night, when I was perhaps twelve, I had stayed up reading war correspondences between two lovers trapped on opposite sides, and I thought, perhaps one day, my destiny could diverge from the path laid out for me. Perhaps one day, I could be remembered, not for my wrongs, but my rights._

_All your talk of poetry reminds me of those letters. Perhaps one day, some other miserable twelve-year-old boy will read these letters, our letters, and dream himself a better future, a happier ending that the one already etched in blood into the pages of his story._

_I can’t echo this sentiment enough but I wish I was there with you, too. I wish many things these days, too many._

_I wish to meet your eyes across a crowded room, let the voices around us fade to nothing as I take in the depths of your face, the arch of your brow. I wish to let the warmth of your arms claim me at the end of the day, let my fingers trail over the dip of your hip and the freckle that lays there. I wish to see you in my dreams, I wish to see you out my dreams, wish to see that those dreams weren’t merely just dreams. I wish we were next to each other, linked hands, walking anywhere, everywhere, nowhere at all._

_I present you another bit of Lady Izumi Shibiku’s words you might enjoy: “Sunk in reverie, I seem to see in the river fireflies my soul gone forth in longing from my body.”_

_Zuko_

_P.S.: Reading this over, I’m realizing just how incredibly maudlin this sounds. I’m still sending it, like the utter fool I am, but if you’d be so kind, please discard of this immediately so the world is left with no evidence of my moment of, as you’d put it, weepiness. Thank you very much._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got the iconic 'history, huh?' in there and some version of 'should I tell you?' I hope you liked it, please please let me know what you thought of it!! Even if I don't respond to comments I promise you I read and cherish each and every single one of them and go to my inbox to reread them every time I have a bad day :) They'll be very, very appreciated! thanks for reading, we're halfway through :D!


	6. closet metaphors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which, some people find out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a little bit of a filler chapter so I'm so sorry it took so long! If you've stuck with me so far, I can't thank you enough!
> 
> A little bit about the chapter: the phrase "coming out of the closet" wasn't in use until the 60s so I was a little bit hesitant to include a reference to it in this chapter but I think the meaning still works because the closet is a symbol of the parts of yourself you want to hide from the rest of the world and that still makes sense with this universe? I briefly thought about making up a phrase to fit better but as much as I love etymology and linguistics, I just don't think it's worth the effort for like, one joke. I hope that makes sense!

Sokka’s having a little bit of a bad day. 

It started off fine, the beginnings of a completely normal day as he got out of bed, stretched his limbs, and read over Zuko’s last letter for the third time that week. He met his sister for breakfast, smiling softly, when he first noticed things were… wrong.

First off, Gran-Gran was nowhere to be seen, but though it was rare for her to not join him and Katara, it happened sometimes and that in itself wasn’t as concerning. What was concerning was that his father was there, sitting right there at the table, arm on his sister’s shoulder. 

The Water Tribe wasn’t a small nation and though it had two rulers to shoulder the work, both rulers liked to take a hands-on approach to running a nation. That was a good strategy in the political sense, of course, but it also meant that Hakoda or Kya didn’t just… show up to breakfast. It was always planned somehow, and even surprises came with special occasions. He warily looked at his family as he took his place next to his sister, eyes wrinkling in concern.

Katara turned to him, teary-eyed, and told him about how Gran-Gran woke up with a high fever in the middle of the night and had been speaking of seeing spirits since dawn. She was with the healers of the tribe, and their mother, and she was very, very sick.

If that wasn’t bad enough, after breakfast, news came that disputes and encounters with pirate ships along the sea trade routes had sunk various Water Tribe trading ships. Organizing trade routes was one of the only real responsibilities, other than diplomacy, Sokka had managed to convince his parents to trust him with and he had to watch as it crumbled in front of him.

He threw himself into fixing it, redrawing routes, coordinating lines, and all that came with it. This led to an argument with Katara about him not loving Gran-Gran enough to care, which was not only false, but also hurt a lot.

He knows Katara didn’t mean it, that emotions were running high and she said somethings she’ll end up apologizing for the next day, but as he sits onto the cold snow overlooking the sea, he feels the crater of hurt in his chest dig deeper.

So, yes, Sokka’s having a very bad day. 

He crashes into the ice, bundled in a thick winter coat, the wind hitting his face. Growing up in the South Pole, he’s always been comfortable in the cold and barely felt the chills of the snow around him but the biting wind streaking past his nose provides a small comfort of  _ feeling _ as it turns red. 

There’s movement behind him, a rustling in the snow. He doesn’t turn his head but startles as a figure settles next to him, clad in royal red. He shifts slightly and spots a familiar mess of dark hair. 

He smiles unconsciously, a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. “Zuko,” he says, almost in a whisper. He shifts closer, resting his head on the familiar shoulder. “How are you here?” 

A head settles over his own and the tug of feeling moves from his nose to his heart. He lets out an exhale, trying to dissolve the tension from his shoulders. A scratchy voice sounds over him and Sokka lets the cadence of the words tug the rest of the tension from his body. 

“Aang and I were at the Southern Air Temple,” Zuko says, “It’s not far from here. We were overseeing some repairs over the spiritual centers of the place that needed the Avatar and Fire Nation resources. We were going to come here afterwards anyway, as a surprise, but then we heard about your ships and your grandmother so we took a break, got on Appa and here we are.”

“How’d you spin this one with the Fire Nation overlords? Foreign relations again?” Sokka says, leaning in closer.

“I… didn’t,” comes the answer. “They don’t know I’m here. But that’s a good excuse for when they eventually end up finding out.”

Sokka shifts until his back is to the snow and rests his shoulder on Zuko’s lap, closing his eyes. A hand finds its way to his air and tugs the wolf-tail loose, slender fingers carding through soft brown hair. “I’m glad you’re here,” he says softly. “It’s been a bad day.”

They stay like that for a while, in their own little bubble of warmth among the cold snow. Zuko feels his shivers subside as his hands keep moving and Sokka feels like he could fall asleep right there in the cold, their companionable silence of gentle breathing quieting his mind and lulling him to sleep. 

There’s a shuffle of movement behind them and Zuko looks to the side to spot what he assumes is a messenger, nervously shuffling on her feet. Sokka cracks an eye open and sits up when he recognizes her from the healer’s hut. “Prince Sokka,” she says with a brief bow of casual respect. “Your mother sent me to bring you word of your grandmother’s condition. She is stable and the healers expect her to make a full recovery.”

For the first time that day, Sokka’s face splits into a grin. He dismisses the messenger and crashes his head back into Zuko’s lap, still grinning. “That’s good news,” Zuko says, hands returning to his hair. “Do you feel better?”

Yeah,” Sokka agrees. “You’re here. And, Gran-Gran’s okay. I’m feeling better.” He pauses, reaching down to fiddle with the hem of his coat. “I’m going to have to talk to Katara though, I don’t like arguing with her. And, revise the trade routes. Probably read up on pirate territories, too.”

“Can you do all of that in the morning?” Zuko asks. 

Sokka grins, opening his eyes and narrowing them playfully. “Are you trying to take me to bed, Prince Zuko?”

“Hmm. Maybe. I’m tired. Traveling isn’t as fun as it might seem.”

Sokka smiles and sits up slowly, extending a hand to hoist Zuko up as well. He intertwines their fingers and squeezes their joined hands. “Yeah,” he says. “Let’s go to bed.”

* * *

Sokka awakens at the crack of dawn with a familiar warmth encompassing him and sighs contentedly. He can tell Zuko’s awake already, and so he turns in his arms and meets warm golden eyes blinking in the low light filtering through the room. 

“I didn’t account for the sunrise here,” Zuko whispers, his voice still sleep-sated and calm. “Agni still rises, but not as much as she does in the Fire Nation.” He leans forward into the warmth until his words are muffled. “Feels weird. But nice.”

“Welcome to the South Pole, baby,” Sokka whispers with a laugh, like he’s telling a joke. He runs his fingers through soft black hair. “I forget that you’ve never spent a night here. Last time…” he cuts himself off with a soft laugh and Zuko groans into his chest. 

It’s the early hours of the morning and the bare traces of sunlight are filtering through the window. Sokka feels a wave of… something. Emotion, feeling. Something large and encompassing buzzing beneath his skin and swallowing him whole. 

“So, does the position of the sun mean that you’ll stay in bed with me for a few more hours?” he asks, trailing his fingers over the pale back exposed to him, drawing nonsensical shapes. 

Zuko pulls back and for a second Sokka thinks he’s asking a little bit too much until he meets his eyes. The golden gaze, soft and warm, the corners crinkling in affection. “Yeah,” he whispers and then snuggles in closer, pressing a kiss to the skin he finds to rest his head against. “Yeah, I’ll stay.”

It feels like the answer to a different question, a deeper question, but Sokka takes it, returning to trailing his fingers over every inch of exposed skin. 

And that’s how they spend the next few hours, tangled in each other and bathing in the warm rays of sunlight in the cold icy room. Whispered conversations gave way to argumentative discussions and bouts of laughter and Sokka feels like he could drown in the feeling. It’s awfully domestic, and he can imagine moments like this stretching far into the future, though he doesn’t quite know if he’s allowed to have imaginings yet.

The hours seem to escape them right before their eyes, which is why they’re so startled when a knock echoes through the room. “Sokka?” he hears Katara call. “Are you awake?” The boys exchange one terrified glance as Katara continues. “Look, I’m sorry about what I said yesterday. I was angry and upset and I said some things I shouldn’t have.”

Sokka knows. He knows his sister like the back of his hand and though her words had hurt initially, he had been quick to dismiss them for the impulsive words of anger they were. “Sokka, would you please talk to me?” Katara says and she sounds so small that Sokka can’t just ignore her. 

Zuko understands. He gets to his feet, clutching his robe closer to his body, as he looks around for places to hide. He eyes the closet, with Sokka’s clothes stacked neatly on the shelves, and stifles a laugh. “I know,” Sokka whispers. “We can talk about the metaphors later. Get in please?”

Zuko does with another stifled giggle and Sokka smooths out his clothes as he goes to open the door, revealing Katara’s worried face. She hugs him just as he opens the door, as he gingerly hugs her back, petting her head awkwardly.

She pulls away just enough so they can stand face to face. “Sokka, I’m so—” and then cuts herself off as she gets a clear look of the room behind him, the rumpled sheets that clearly housed two people, the two pairs of shoes at the foot of the bed. “Did you have someone in here?” She huffs. “We need to talk about working on your coping mechanisms.”

Sokka rolls his eyes. “I thought you were apologizing,” he jokes and a flash of emotion goes through his sister’s face before she realizes he’s kidding and lets her features soften. 

“Those are Fire Nation shoes,” she continues, narrowing her eyes. “When did someone from the Fire Nation even get here? Wait.”

He can tell she’s getting here, her eyes wide as the cogs in her brain turn at full speed. He remembers a certain piece of information Zuko told him last night and decides to aid her along in the best way he knows how: through a joke. “Don’t act like you’re so innocent either, I heard a certain Avatar was here last night,” he smirks.

Katara flushes, the only evidence of her acknowledging his statement, before her eyes widen further and she points at him. “Zuko!” she exclaims. “You’ve been— with the Prince— Fire Nation!” 

Zuko choses just this moment to make his entrance. There’s a faint noise of shuffling from the closet and a few bangs before the door cracks open and Prince Zuko falls out, piles of Sokka’s clothes and bedding falling on top of him. “Sorry,” he says halfheartedly, looking up from the floor, his face stained a rosy red.

Sokka laughs, big and bright, as he leans down to help him up and pressing an affectionate kiss to his cheek. “Sorry my sister figured it out,” he mutters into the soft skin and Zuko reddens even more. 

Katara blinks a little bit owlishly, her eyes bouncing between the two of them. She looks partially surprised, partially happy, and partially worried as her eyes track their movements.

“I, uh,” he says looking between Sokka and Katara. “I’ll let you talk.” He looks a little bit afraid and Sokka grins. 

“Don’t leave without telling me, okay?” he says sternly. “We’ll both be there to say goodbye.” With that he leans in and presses a quick kiss to Zuko’s lips, leaving him a little bit of a blushy mess.

Sokka turns back to his sister as Zuko hightails it out of there with a little wave. “So, we should probably talk, huh?”

* * *

_ Dear Sokka,  _

_ I wish I could say this letter comes with good news but... I can’t. I’ve heard some things around the palace that I thought you might like to know.  _

_ There’s been speculations about us, about what we are to each other. They sprang up when I returned from the South Pole from my last visit to you. I can’t be certain who started them, but Azula has been acting differently since my return, and though I don’t like to think of it, my sister might have been the root of all of this.  _

_ I know your mother and father are due at the palace within the coming days and I’m writing ahead to let you know of the rumors beforehand so you can make the decision of how they find out. I don't know your parents well enough to know if they will hold merit to palace staff gossip, but I know you, love. I know how much you care for them and I know that you would rather they hear from you personally than through the grapevine.  _

_ You once called me “sunshine” in the early light of that morning on Ember Island, but it is you that is the sunlight, the unyielding warmth, a presence to lean upon, something sure and true. I would never ask you to lie for my sake, not to your parents whom I know you love so very much, because that wouldn’t be you.  _

_ Don’t doubt yourself, my sunlight. Whatever happens, know that I am immensely proud of you. You have more courage than I could ever likely muster, and I know that whichever decision you chose to make, it will be the right one.  _

_ I miss you, sweetheart. _

_ Zuko _

_ P.S: “Through an unsleeping night, longingly I pass the hours, while the day’s dawn lags. And now the bedroom shutters are keeping light and life from me.” (Monk Shun’e) _

* * *

Sokka folds the letter neatly in half and tucks it in with the rest of his collection, sighing softly. Zuko’s right, he does want his parents to hear from him personally, but… it’s difficult. 

It’s not customary in the Southern Water Tribe to talk about relationships until they’re  _ official _ -official, serious enough for betrothal necklaces and the like, but he knows his parents will have questions for him if they find out through palace gossip. Telling them now is the lesser of two evils.

Sokka sighs again and gets up to his feet. This is going to be an awkward conversation and he knows it. 

He waits until just before dinner, when his parents’ Chieftain responsibilities dwindle for the day as citizens of the Water Tribe begin to wind down. He slips into their offices just as a group of lawmen clear out, nervously fidgeting with the hem of his sleeves.

“Uh, you guys busy?” he asks hesitantly. Kya and Hakoda look up from a scroll they were both hunched over and smile.

“Never too busy for you,” Kya croons, rolling up the scroll with a grin. It fades when she catches the expression on his face, replaced with a frown. “Is everything alright?”

Sokka smiles nervously, shuffling forward to take a seat on one of the many fur-lined chairs littered around their office. “Uh, yeah, I’m fine. I just wanted to talk to you guys about something?” He lets out a few nervous chuckles. “Uh, something personal, I guess.”

There’s a moment of silence. Hakoda exchanges a glance with his wife before blurting out, “You’re in a relationship?”

Sokka chokes on his own spit. “I—ahem, sorry.” He clears his throat aggressively before taking a few deep breaths. “How did— I mean,  _ Katara _ found out like last week, and we’re practically attached at the hip! How did you guys even—”

Kya smiles. “Honey, we might be a bit busier now than before, but we know you. We can tell when you’re happier.” She pauses. “In love.”

Sokka chokes again. He pours himself a glass of water and downs the whole thing. “We’re not— we haven’t said that...” he pauses for a moment before adding, “...yet.”

Hakoda laughs and reaches over the table to ruffle his son’s hair. “So… tell us about her! We want to know who our son is so smitten with!”

“I’m not—” he tries, but apparently the spirits haven’t granted him the right to full sentences today so he cuts himself off with a dramatic sigh. “It’s not.. a her. I’ve recently discovered that I like both men and women.”

There’s a moment of silence before Hakoda breaks, launching forward to wrap his arms around his son. “Sokka… so do I. I’m sorry, I never wanted you to grow up thinking that was wrong in any way. Don’t tell me this was the cause of the secrecy.”

“We love you, honey,” Kya adds, “no matter what.”

Sokka blinks, face smushed against his father’s chest. Might as well piggyback off of this momentum. “Also, he’s Fire Nation.”

Hakoda pulls back, holding Sokka at arm’s length. He exchanges a glance with his wife. “Okay… I understand the secrecy now.” He laughs. “Guess that explains all the Fire Nation hawks flying around. I thought you were just getting really into foreign relations. Wait…”

Sokka coughs, turning red. Kya stands and makes her way around the table to rest a gentle hand on Sokka’s shoulder. “That’s alright too,” she says. “The war is long over and the people are changing. If you care for him, we trust your judgement.”

Sokka nods. There’s only one more thing left. “Also he’s… Zuko.”

At this, both of his parents blink in stunned silence. “The… prince?” 

“Yeah, the prince. Of the Fire Nation. Heir to the throne… yeah I’m making this worse.”

His mother faces him. “This… isn’t a decision either of you can back away from, you know that, right? Even if this ends, it will follow both of you for the rest of your lives.” Sokka nods nervously. He knows this, of course, but  _ Spirits _ if it doesn’t sound ominous coming from his mother. 

Then, her face softens. “Do you feel… forever for him?” she asks gently.

Forever. Sokka would be lying if he said it wasn’t something he thinks about almost every day. He wonders if he can really have it: a forever. With Zuko. A boy with the temperament of a turtleduck and too-stiff grammar and syntax in his letters. The boy who makes Sokka feel… real. 

He looks to his mother and nods slowly. “Yeah,” he answers. “I think I do.”

He’s wrapped up in a hug from both of his parents, tight and squeezing. His father presses a firm kiss to his forehead and he smiles contentedly. And then, he remembers something: “Wait can we backtrack to ‘so do I?’ Was anyone going to tell me that or was I supposed to make a grand claim of sexuality myself?”

His parents laugh into his hair and he lets himself revel in their love for another moment.

* * *

  
  


_ Zuko,  _

_ I told them. I told my parents that I liked boys, that I liked you, and they took it like… really well. Did you know my dad also likes both? He just dropped it on me. I made this emotional declaration and he just went “so do I.” Like, it probably would have been more helpful a couple of months ago, but thanks dad.  _

_ Thanks for letting me know what was happening. I don’t deserve you. I would have hated it if they found out through some servants gossiping about me, so thanks.  _

_ It sucks about Azula though, but it probably wasn’t even her. Like, she sucks but she’s your sister, dude. She cares about you, even if it’s in her own twisted way. And besides, palace gossip is just like that. They probably were trying to figure out why you were suddenly spending so much time with me and it’s not like they’re  _ _ wrong _ _.  _

_ I miss you too. If I was more of a sap than I am, I would say being called your sunlight when you’re a firebender and rise with Agni is a little bit poetic but I’m definitely not, shut up. I may be your sunlight but I still think you suit sunshine like one of your tailored robes, blindingly beautiful in the morning light even when you’re, for some reason, determined to leave the warmth of the bed at the crack of dawn.  _

_ The bed’s never as warm after you leave. You know how people talk about the fuzzy feeling you get in your chest when you’re around someone you like? You’re that personified: my fuzzy feeling. In my chest, around my shoulders when you hold me, down my legs tangled with yours.  _

_ I don’t know when you and warmth became synonymous in my head, but it’s too cold now, without you. _

  
  


_ Sokka _

_ P.S.: “In my cold bed, drawing close my folded quilt, I sleep alone. While all through the frosty night, I hear a cricket’s lonely sound.” (Fujiwara no Yoshitsune) _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a little bit of a hodgepodge because it has one of the first scenes I wrote while drafting this whole fic but is surrounded by scenes I just wrote. I tried to edit it to fit well and flow together but if it feels a bit weird, that may be why. 
> 
> As always, comments, kudos, and bookmarks are very very appreciated! please let me know what you think of this, thank you so much!!


	7. being normal is hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> everyone else while drunk: let's do something stupid :)
> 
> these guys while drunk: let's make a COUNTRY
> 
> (zuko and sokka celebrate their birthdays with the best people in the world)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is it underage drinking if there's no clear drinking laws outlined? I'm not sure but if you would consider it that, then, yes, there's underage drinking in this one :)

_Sokka,_

_My birthday falls in the coming months, and so does yours, I believe, only a few days after mine. Toph discovered this fact earlier and wrote to me this morning, adamant that we celebrate all together. She asked to invite you, your sister, and Suki, if she isn’t otherwise occupied, to Ba Sing Se for a celebration of her design. Expect to receive an official Beifong invitation regarding the matter._

_I’m not quite sure what she’s planning. She promised it won’t be too extravagant, for my sake, but it’s still a bit of a terrifying prospect. I know being a Prince is a very privileged position to hold in society, but sometimes, the eyes of the world on me gets somewhat tiring._

_My mother, when she was here, always used to make an effort to protect me from their gazes, even when they were out of curiosity rather than judgement or contempt. But, she’s gone now and my father now uses those eyes as a tool to keep himself in power._

_Is that self-important to say? I know I’m not the sole reason the monarchy is still in place, I’m not that conceited, but, I know the sole reason my father keeps me around is because of the public’s opinion of me. Ozai and Azula don’t have the best reputations, if you weren’t able to tell, and Uncle Iroh has mostly withdrawn from the royal family and the eye of the people after Lu Ten’s death, so it’s mostly me holding on to their good graces, though I can’t understand why. I’m not sure I wouldn’t have been banished years ago if making nice with the world hadn’t been drilled into me from childhood, and I’m not sure whether I’m angry or grateful for it._

_This must get repetitive to say in every letter but I’ll say it anyway: I miss you. I dreamt of you. Is that a surprise? It wasn’t anything in particular remarkable about the dream, but your presence and the sense of safety. Maybe Toph’s Ba Sing Se celebration won’t be terrible if you’re there. Maybe, even if the eyes make their way back onto me, you being there will be enough to bring me calm despite it._

_I promise this was meant to be a generally short letter passing on the invitation in a less official manner than when Toph gets to it later. Letters to you have a way of drifting from practical to theatrical. I can’t tell if that’s because of you or because of me._

_Yours,_

_Zuko_

_P.S.: “When in dreams I go to you, I hide from people’s eyes.” (Fujiwara no Toshiyuki)_

* * *

  
  


_Zuko,_

_Toph is terrifying. She’s tiny and blind so she shouldn’t be so scary but I’ve only met her once and I know she could kill me if she put in the slightest effort. Her invitation came in just as your letter did but I, obviously, opened your letter first so thank you for the heads up. I don’t know how I would have reacted to getting a letter from her if I didn’t have the context first._

_Of course I’ll be there. And so will Katara and Suki. I can’t believe it didn’t realize how close our birthdays were. If I knew before, I would have planned something myself, Toph be damned (no matter how much she scares me). I won’t forget that you’re a whole year older than me. Maybe that’s where all the wisdom comes from, that whole extra year of life experience._

_(I just realized that the wisdom probably comes from your Uncle Iroh, judging from what you’ve said about him. He and I should have tea sometimes so I could also have a dose of that wisdom.)_

_I dream about you too, so I guess it’s not a surprise that you do the same. They’re so vivid, my dreams. You feel so solid in them, I forget that you’re halfway across the world and not right here next to me. You should be. It’s frustrating that you’re not._

_I don’t know if I understand your thing about the people watching you, but I kind of do? I know that doesn’t make sense. I want to capture people’s attention but I always stumble when it actually gets to me. I can romanticize the thought of people’s eyes on me but whenever it actually happens, it’s like I forget how to act. Does that make sense?_

_So maybe I don’t actually understand it but I’m glad I can help. Your worth isn’t measured by what Ozai or the people think of you, it never has and it never will be. But, if you need to, you can hide with me. I don’t know if I’ll ever match up to your mom but I’ll protect you, I promise._

_I think a celebration will be fun. All of us in one place, forgetting all the stuff we have to worry about even if for just a day or two._

_I’ll see you in Ba Sing Se._

_Sokka_

_P.S.: “Thinking about you, I slept and I saw you in the dream. If I had known it would have been a dream, I wouldn’t have woken up.” (Ono no Komachi)_

* * *

Katara, Suki, and Sokka pass through the walls of Ba Sing Se, looking down to the city below. They’re important enough to be given a space in the Upper Ring to stay during the duration of their visit, but they all know that by the end, they’ll be in the Middle Ring, where all the fun usually is.

The three are greeted by a guard Sokka vaguely recognizes from Zuko swordfighting match as Toph’s, and led into a large house way too fancy for the three of them. Inside stands the small figure of Toph Beifong as she dismisses her guards, who close the door behind them as they go to stand guard outside. 

There is a weird sort of tension in the air. Of the three, only Sokka knows Toph to any degree and even then, he’s barely exchanged a few words with her. She looks regal in what’s clearly an Earth Kingdom nobility getup, her hair secured neatly behind her. 

She approaches them, her face blank, as Katara and Suki tense behind him. And then, she reaches out and punches his arm.

Sokka smiles nervously. “Hi Toph,” he says, hoping they’re on a first name basis. 

“Snoozles,” she nods, like what she said makes any sense. “Your boytoy and Twinkle-Toes are on their way. They were supposed to get here before you but Sparky’s got jitters.”

Sokka’s smile turns a little wider as he relaxes. “Am I his boytoy or is he mine?” he jokes as another light punch lands on his arm. Maybe that’s how she shows affection, he doesn’t really know. 

Katara jabs him with her elbow, because the universe just decided he needs to get hit today, and he turns back to Toph, gesturing to the two women next to him. “This is my sister Katara,” he introduces, “and Suki. Our… bodyguard? Best friend? Both.”

“I know,” Toph replies and her hazy white gaze is just unsettling enough for the three to look around nervously. And then, she cracks a grin. “Obviously. Sparky’s smart but also stupid. I had to make sure you weren’t evil.”

Sokka’s about to make another joke when the door opens again, making way for Zuko and Aang to come through. He restrains himself just until the guards are out of the door before launching at Zuko, arms winding around his neck. “Hi,” he whispers softly, focusing on how solid he feels. This isn’t a dream. 

“Hey,” he replies, arms around his waist. “Missed you.” Sokka tightens his hold and smiles.

“If you all are done canoodling,” Toph interrupts, her nose wrinkled slightly. Sokka pauses for a moment at her use of the word ‘all’ before he sees his sister and Aang also hugging off to the side. _Huh._

Toph blinks as all eyes land on her and clears her throat dramatically. “Here’s the plan.”

* * *

Sneaking out of the Upper Ring is easier than anticipated though Sokka thinks it will be slightly harder to get back in. They stumble through the streets of the Middle Ring of Ba Sing Se, their fancier robes discarded for more common clothes. Strolling among the orange hue of the dipping sun reflected onto the warm walls of the buildings, they are just kids, no expectations on their heads, no duties to uphold. 

There’s an air of lightness to their steps, almost coordinated but not quite, as if on a faint rhythm. As Toph cackles at a joke Suki made and Aang and Katara rush to add on and continue the joke, Sokka sees the tension seep out of Zuko’s shoulders. He’s relaxed, having fun surrounded by people he trusts, and Sokka feels himself grin. 

He can’t help but think, they are not meant to have this. They are meant to shape the nations, be the next generation of leaders, and learn to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. They are not meant to shed their robes and stride through the buzzing streets of Ba Sing Se, have days like these where they can just _be_. They are not meant to have this, but they do, and that, he thinks, makes a world of difference.

The group ducks into a shop, though no one can tell what they’re supposed to be selling. There’s a band playing, something loud and fast-paced, making even the most serious listeners tap their feet. There’s trays of food being passed around, cups of tea, wine, and saké cradled under smiling faces. It’s the exact kind of ambience he was hoping for.

Toph drags them to a booth, shouldering past people two or three times her size. They sit in a circle, all around the table, knees pressed and knocking elbows, and Sokka feels a bubble of warmth encase him. He feels safe here, happy even, and grins as he leans into Zuko sitting next to him.

They’re down three bottles of saké, when the world turns a little bit hazy and the conversation flows smoother than any of them would have thought possible with six people involved.

“Listen,” Aang says, his voice rising and falling in an erratic rhythm as he moves his hands. “The old Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom have already blended the two cultures. Giving them to the Earth Kingdom wasn’t really fair. After the first few years of Fire Nation rule, the culture was completely different than either nation’s. If we could build on that, and combine parts of the other two nations too—”

“I never pay attention to anything my parents do,” Toph comments, interrupting. “But I know the Earth Kingdom nobles would hate that. To them, it’s their territory. They’d think of it as stealing.” She takes another sip of her drink. “So, tell me about how we can make this thing happen.”

“There has to be a well-defined set of laws,” Suki says. “All four nations see the law completely differently so we’d have to make a whole new system that isn’t mostly influenced by any specific one or the concept of blended cultures will go,” she makes a gesture with one hand, like she isn’t quite sure what to say next.

“Whoosh,” Sokka suggests helpfully, mimicking the gesture. His voice is the most slurred of all of them. 

Suki nods solemnly. “I know a lot of people that would love to see it go whoosh.”

“There should be a system of representatives from each nation forming the council,” Katara suggests. “So every nation has their values reflected in government.”

“Yeah!” Aang agrees. “Four representatives, one from each nation. Air, Water, Fire, Earth.”

“But the Northern and Southern Water Tribes are so different,” Sokka slurs. “One rep—repre— person can’t be there for both.” He counts on his fingers as he lists. “We have different governments, different values, and different cultures.”

“What do you have in common, then?” Zuko asks, almost like he’s making a joke.

“Well, water,” he responds. “Religion and spiritual stuff. An awesome blue and white color scheme, obviously.”

Zuko laughs into his cup, Suki joining in. “Of course, the color scheme,” he says, deadpan.

“So, five representatives, then?” Aang says. “That’s not so bad.”

“This is good, but none of this means shit if the Earth Kingdom doesn’t let it happen,” Toph says. “Those fuckers tie their whole self worth to a piece of land. Best case scenario, they throw a hissy fit and say no.”

“What if we get all the other nations to agree first?” Katara asks hesitantly. “If the rest of the world is in favor of the United Republic, then the Earth Kingdom would be outnumbered.”

“The Fire Nation will probably support it,” Zuko mutters. “Ozai will take partial influence over no influence at all. If he can spread some Fire Nation politics to previously Earth Kingdom regions, it’s good enough for him.”

“It’s not about spreading politics,” Katara interjects. “It’s about mixing cultures and creating an atmosphere where people from all backgrounds can live in harmony.”

“Yes,” Zuko agrees. “But what would you rather pitch to the Fire Lord? _Hey you’ll get to have influence over more land_ or _hey let’s all hold hands and try to create peace_?”

“Mom and Dad would be up for it,” Sokka says, trying to clear away some of the tension that settles onto the room. “Arnook would take some convincing but he’d probably say yes too. And the Air Nomads are already behind it. If the Fire Nation says yes, in whatever way, then the only problem is the Earth Kingdom.”

“That’ll probably bring in the worst case scenario,” Toph says. “They’ll take it as a declaration of war.”

“She’s right,” Zuko adds. “It’s their land. Us trying to take it _is_ grounds for war. They won’t agree. We’ll have to find another way. Some way to frame it to the nobles that’ll seem appealing to them.”

By now, most of their cups are empty and the bottle lies forgotten on the table. It’s late, the shop almost empty, and probably only still open because of however much money Toph gave them. 

Aang sighs. “Making a country is hard,” he says. “Especially when you’re drunk.”

“Come on buddy, the best ideas come when you’re drunk,” Sokka jokes, swinging an arm over his shoulder. “It’s the lowered in— inhi— in— in-hi-bi-tions.”

Katara grimaces. “Yeah, I think we should go. Get some rest.” She sits up, Aang leaning on one side of her and Toph on the other. She looks to Zuko who nods, letting Sokka lean onto him as he follows his sister up to his feet.

They walk through the almost deserted streets, a small flame dancing on Zuko’s palm for some extra light. Sokka’s draped over him, the others stumbling alongside them. “Did you have fun today, sunshine?” Sokka says, his words slurred and slightly muffled into Zuko’s decidedly un-princelike clothes.

Zuko feels himself smile. “Yeah I had fun,” he says softly before raising his voice just a bit so it can reach the others. “I can’t believe you all made me have fun talking _politics_ ,” he jokingly grimaces.

The others laugh softly, filling the streets, but still just for the six of them. Katara’s eyes rest on her brother, before she looks up to meet a pair of golden eyes illuminated by a small flame. She makes sure to put meaning into her look as she says, “Maybe, it’s the company.”

Zuko smiles, directing it downwards to the boy leaning onto him and then moving up to look at the stumbling figures that surround him. “Yeah,” he agrees. “It’s the company.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


_Zuko,_

_My memory of Ba Sing Se is honestly a little bit hazy, but Katara and I’ve been talking about the United Republic project, and I think I’m getting into it (again). I like the idea that the completely different cultures of the nations can have one spot to blend together. Maybe, if Aang actually manages to get this thing together, I might join in and help him._

_On another note, I’ve been reading some of the letters I sent you (I made two copies of every letter I wrote, one to send to you and one to keep, using impressions of graphite on parchment so the text imprints under the pressure of the pen, I don’t really know how to explain it. I thought it would help me keep track of everything so I can follow our back and forth conversation and keep things organized) and I know we talked about making history with our letters but Spirits I am so sappy. We have to make sure not one soul besides us reads a word of these until years after we’re dead, or I might have to exile myself to the swamp and live amongst the catgators for the rest of my life._

_Seeing you gave me a lot more dream fuel so thank Toph for that, by the way. In my dream, we were the disguises we put on to sneak through the city, without anyone around to whisper about legacies and duties to the throne or whatever. It was nice, being anonymous and I get it now, better than ever, what you meant that night of the festival. Being famous sucks._

_So, how have you been? How does it feel being on this earth for twenty-two whole years? Being twenty-one is no different than being twenty, to be honest, but I could have sworn I felt my bones creak when I got out of bed this morning._

_Dream of me!_

_Sokka_

_P.S.: “Come to me at night. For on the path of dreams at least, there’s no one to disapprove.” (Ono no Komachi)_

* * *

_Sokka,_

_I’m quite sure all that bone creaking was because of the frigid weather down at the South Pole, and not your age. I assure you, you’re still young and spry as you’ve always been, and your bones won’t stop you now. (That comment wasn’t initially meant to be suggestive but I’m sure you’ll take it that way.)_

_I’m surprised I hadn’t thought of duplicating my letters, to be honest, it would be a good tool to keep order of our correspondence. I understand the sentiment of wanting to hide them away, I recall saying some, as you’d put it, “sappy” things as well. But, all I have for now are your letters, hidden away to only be read on the bad days._

_That’s what today seems to be. A bad day. You’ll forgive me if I sound a bit too formal, I just returned from a meeting with my father and my sister (along with a few noble advisors, all of which I’m convinced despise me) about the continuation of the title of Fire Lord. Father is still set on telling the public he’ll give the title to me but eventually giving it to Azula, or worse, making me her royal puppet. I don’t particularly want to be Fire Lord, I’m of the opinion that the Fire Nation will be better off as a Republic, but any word I tried to get into the meeting was either ignored or viciously torn apart._

_It was easy to forget about Father and Azula while in Ba Sing Se but reality awaits._

_I will do you a favor and not tell Toph your dreams stem from the day she planned, it will get to her head and she will never let you forget it. It sounds nice, though, the dream. A United Republic also sounds nice. But, I’m not sure how many nice things we’re allowed to keep._

_I like to read about your dreams, mine haven’t been very entertaining or exciting as of late. If I recall properly, the last good night’s sleep I had was that night in Ba Sing Se, and since then, my dreams have been fleeting and broken. Tell me more about them, your dreams, how we are in this hypothetical world, who we are. That also sounds nice._

_I’m doing well, or, at least feeling better than I did when I started drafting this letter. Writing to you seems to have that effect, brightening my day even if just a little bit. Thank you, my sunlight._

_I always dream of you._

_Zuko_

_P.S.: “More than my life, what I most regret is a dream unfinished, and awakening.” (Tadamine)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> only three more chapters left! Comments, kudos, bookmarks, whatever you can offer, I would Love!! Thanks for reading :)


	8. obligatory smidgen of angst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "This is the closest he can get to saying the words. He doesn’t think he can actually bring himself to say them. He thinks what comes next would hurt a little too much."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, a little bit of a serious chapter summary, i'm sorry. this is the most fluff i've written for this fic so far and the most angst i'll probably ever write for this fic (there is a little bit more of plot-related angst but this is the last of... relationship-related angst). I know from the comments a lot of you like this story for it's lightheartedness so I tried to format this as a fluff/angst/fluff sandwich, but let me know what you thought of this. 
> 
> (also: you may have noticed the chapter count change, it's just to make room for the epilogue :) this will still be ten chapters of the main plot but I thought an epilogue would be nice to include)

_Zuko,_

_Katara and I took a walk outside the city yesterday, just talking and wandering like we used to when we were kids. We got just a little bit lost, not enough to be afraid but just enough that we had to think to find a way home. We were running a little bit late and by the time we could see the outskirts of the city on the horizon, the sky was filled with stars._

_So, we laid down, right there in the snow, to watch the stars. I was surprised Kataraeven agreed when we suggested it but I guess she was feeling sentimental because she was down on the ground before I even could._

_The stars are so pretty this time of year. The stars are so pretty all the time but around this time specifically, there’s so many in the sky. There’s nothing like stargazing from the Poles, I’ll tell you that. None of the poetry books I’ve been reading help when I try to describe it._

_You feel so small under a sky full of stars, you know? Like it’s only you against the world. The moon hung high in the sky and the bright white stars surrounding it felt like… like… I don’t have a poetic metaphor for this; it just felt important._

_The moon, honestly, felt like it was mocking me. I know Tui doesn’t have a personal vendetta against me specifically but it sure felt like it when the phase of the moon was the exact same as it was the last time we were together. Bless the Spirits, but Tui,_ _please_ _._

_Anyway, I’m saying this because I have a proposition. A little birdie (Katara via Aang) tells me that you (and Toph and Aang) will be at the Southern Air Temple in the coming months for… what was it, a cultural restoration project? Whatever you were doing the last time you were at the Southern Air Temple and came to see me, I don’t remember._

_I bring this up because… well the whole gang hasn’t all been at the South Pole, have they? Toph’s never been here at all. I think you all should stop by for a night or two. We could all go to my parent’s old house from before they were Chieftains and the two of us could… watch the stars. Look at the moon. Contemplate our existence on this planet. Kiss, maybe. You know, bro stuff._

_Pass the invitation along to the others. I’d love to see you (and the others, but mostly you; they’ll understand.)_

_Sokka_

_P.S.: The moon rounds the red mansion, stops to silk-pad doors, shines upon the sleepless bearing no grudge. Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?” (Su Shi)_

* * *

“I think I like it here,” Zuko whispers into the dark. They’re tucked into the snow, warm coats pressed against it each. 

Having managed to sneak out of the house without awakening anyone, Sokka’s now fulfilling the promise he made to Zuko in his letters. He looks up at the sky full of stars and smiles. “Do you?” he asks, “You’re shivering.”

“I’m not used to the cold, obviously, but, it’s nice,” Zuko smiles, gesturing with his hand up to the sky. “Looking up at the stars. You were right about what you said in your letter. The stars do make you feel small, but in a strange, comforting sort of way.”

Sokka snorts, counting on his fingers. “Watch the stars, check.”

“What was next again? Look at the moon?”

“Yep, and then contemplate our existence.” His gaze turns mischievous as his fingers count on. “And, then, you know, bro stuff.”

Zuko laughs and then leans his head against Sokka’s shoulder, getting comfortable. “You skipped over my favorite one,” he mumbles with a pout.

He gets a frown in return. “Did I? Which one was that?” His frown turns into a lopsided smirk. “Remind me?”

Zuko scoffs and shoots a glare over his head, his cheeks heating up. “Did you really need an elaborate excuse to kiss me?” he asks, a little hesitant but still in a tone that commands to be answered.

“Baby,” he says, letting the endearment roll off his tongue, “this whole trip’s been an elaborate excuse to kiss you.”

They press their matching grins to each other, pressing soft little kisses to cold lips. “I wish I could have done this earlier,” Sokka murmurs as they break apart, breath fogging into the cold air.

“What? Kiss me?” Zuko laughs, bright and blinding, as another series of kisses are pressed to his lips. “That wasn’t meant to be a request but I’m not complaining,” He grins, still laughing as he leans up to the kisses.

“I’m gonna be really sappy for a minute, okay?” Sokka says suddenly, his eyes molten under the moon and starlight. 

“Do I get to tease you for it?”

He rolls his eyes, his grin widening. “You don’t get to say shit, Mr. _I wish we were next to each other, linked hands, walking anywhere, everywhere, nowhere at all.”_

Zuko looks at him, eyes blank and voice deadpan as he quotes, flatly, “ _You feel so much, but you hide it away. You shouldn’t have to. Give yourself away sometimes, sweetheart, there’s so much of you.”_ He looks like he’s stifling a smile as he tilts his head, almost in a challenge.

Sokka doesn’t usually blush, at least not as obviously as someone with a paler complexion would but just then, hearing his own words echoed back to him, he flushes a bright red. It had always been obvious, he realizes. He shakes his head and tries to cover his abundance of _feeling_ with a joke. “Awh,” he croons, “you memorized bits of the letters?”

“So did you!” Zuko counters easily and _yeah_ , he can’t deny that. “Besides, the letters are different.”

“Yeah,” Sokka admits. “Easier to say stuff like that when you can think of it ahead of time.”

“And, more monumental when that’s the only part of you I get to have for weeks at a time.” He smiles a little as he says this, golden eyes reflecting the brightest stars. “ It just feels more real when you’re right next to me.”

“Now who’s being sappy?”

Zuko rolls his eyes fondly, “Alright you can go ahead. I promise not to tease you.”

“I…” Sokka blinks, distracted, “lost my train of thought.” Zuko laughs, in the slowly building, adorable way of his, as if he’s afraid to laugh but is just filled with too much joy to contain it. It’s the form truest to him and Sokka grins. “Nope, just came back to me.” He lets his head sink lower. Remember when Suki and Toph were making fun of me for the ugly bag I bought and Toph couldn’t even _see_ it?”

“In her defense, Suki’s description of it was very vivid.” He snorts. “It was a really ugly bag.”

“It wasn’t that bad!” Sokka rushes to defend before clearing his throat. This is leading somewhere, he just has to get there. “You laughed then,” he says, softly, “just like that, and I couldn’t even bring myself to be angry about it when you laughed like that.”

Zuko stares and, for a moment he thinks he’s gone too far. And then, the boy in front of him dissolves into a puddle of laughter, soft and happy. “I know I promised not to tease,” he starts, and Sokka can’t help but reach forward and kiss him once again. 

He steels himself to continue, he’s not where he wants to be yet in this conversation. “We were at the marketplace surrounded by people,”he says, “so I couldn’t do this.” He kisses right where the scar meets unmarred skin. “But—”

Zuko’s face is suddenly blank, like earlier when he was masking a smile. Sokka doesn’t think it’s a smile he’s masking this time. “Sokka, you know we can’t—” he says, suddenly solemn.

“I know,” he interrupts softly. “I’m never going to do anything you don’t want me to,” he says. “But one day, however long after it takes to—”

He cuts himself off and shakes his head. “It means something, when it’s us,” he says with an air of finality. This is the closest he can get to saying the words. He doesn’t think he can actually bring himself to say them. He thinks what comes next would hurt a little too much. He looks at Zuko’s face, the troubled, hesitant expression on his face and sighs. “You, me, and history, remember?”

Zuko sits up, suddenly, stumbling onto his feet. “I’ve had quite a long journey, I think I should rest. Good… good night,” he mutters.

And then he’s gone, leaving Sokka to the open night sky and just then, he despises the stars he used to love. He feels so small under them, utterly alone, looking up through miles and miles and miles of distance. 

When Sokka returns to the city, Zuko is curled up in his own bed, face turned toward the wall. In the morning, he’s gone.

  
  
  


* * *

_Zuko,_

_Damn it Zuko, don’t do this again. Look, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, but I need you to talk to me. If you want to stop this, whatever this is, just tell me. Please. Just tell me and we can go back to being just friends, or if you want, we could never speak to each other again. I don’t want to lose you, not like this, and not without any explanation, you’re too important to me for it to end like this._

_I need you to say the word Zuko, I just need you to say it. Please, write back to me, send a messenger, pass along the word. I don’t care, I just want to… I need to hear from you. You’re so warm, sunshine, you’re an angel of light and warmth, like a hearth. It’s too cold without you._ _  
  
_

_I’m sorry. I’ll stop. Just… please write back to me._

_I’m so sorry,_

_Sokka_

_P.S.: “Wondering how you have been as of late, as the breath of snow in the wind blows colder everyday.” (Monk Jakuren)_

  
  


He receives a response after a week. A short, very short, letter, no identifiers or actual sentences like there usually is. There are just the soft strokes of an intimately familiar handwriting, one he’s spent hours reading over and over again.

  
  


_“Pleasure ends, sadness comes, and angels, too, decay.” (Lady Ise)_

  
  


Sokka reads the words again, and then again, committing every swoop of ink into memory until it’s all he can think of. His hands tremble as he drafts a response.

_Zuko,_

_What the fuck does that even mean? I asked for answers, not this. Not for you to make a mockery of the tradition we built together. Tell me you don’t love me, tell you’d rather never see or hear from me again and I’ll take it. I’ll understand. At least then, things would make sense._

_Don’t pretend to be a coward, Zuko, I know you’re not one._

_Sokka_

It’s cutting and angry and Sokka pours all his emotion into those few sentences. He sends off the letter with the first messenger bird he can find and crashes down to his knees. As he watches the bird fly away, he already knows he won’t be getting a response back. 

Sokka takes a deep breath, and then another, finding his center and shakily climbing to his feet. “Suki,” he calls as he knocks on her door, his voice still trembling just slightly. “I need your help.” 

He knows, somewhere than the anger is misdirected. But he can’t go on without an answer. Sokka isn’t the type of person to be able to deal in insinuations and assumptions. He has to… he has to get his answers, no matter what it takes, no matter how much it hurts him. 

* * *

“Hey!” he shouts at the door he’s pretty sure leads to Zuko’s chambers. They had gotten into the Palace no problem (bless Suki) but Sokka is just now realizing how little time he’s actually spent here. Still he continues shouting. He has to get this done. 

He looks at the two nervous-looking guards flanking the ornate door. “I promise I’m not declaring war or whatever,” he tells them. “I just need to speak to your Prince.”

One of them speaks up. “I’m afraid we can’t—” 

“Oh, haven’t you heard?” Sokka interrupts. “We’re best buds! The best of friends! “We’re—”

The other guard looks around nervously. “Sir, please lower your voice or we’ll have to—”

“You’ll have to, what?” Sokka interrupts yet again. “Make me?” He feels some of his real anger seep into what he meant to be just a ruse. He sighs, trying to channel Katara and Suki in their quiet brand of anger that almost appears as nonchalance. “Fine whatever torch me down. Leave the Firelord to deal with the diplomatic consequences of his guards attacking a foreign prince,” he says, not pulling any punches.

The guards don’t have a response to this and they really look like they regret choosing this job. Sokka smiles. “Great. Now let me see the Prince. He’s in there isn’t he? Unless I’m at the wrong place?” They guards exchange another look. Sokka thinks he probably should apologize to them later after all this blows over. 

“I thought so. Zuko!” he shouts. “Zuko you obtuse fucking asshole, open up!”

As if by magic, the door opens. But it’s not Zuko that stands on the other side. “What are you doing here?” says Mai, her gaze cutting as she closes the door behind her. 

She’s just as terrifying as the day he met her, if not more, but Sokka forces a smile on his face. “Hey Mai,” he says with a little wave, “ just here talk to Zuko. You know, as _best friends_ do.”

She levels him with a look and Sokka sees the silver glint of a knife under her sleeve. He gulps. She sighs and her eyes make their way back up to his face. “He doesn’t want to see you,” she says flatly and Sokka feels something in him shatter.

He pushes through. Suki taught him well. “And I’ll leave!” he says with fake cheer. “Just as soon as he talks to me and tells me to leave himself instead of hiding out in his room.”

“Sokka,” she says, no emotion in her voice, “don’t test me.”

“Aw, really?” he quips. “Look at me! I’m testing you right now!”

Mai looks like she’s about to say something else when a voice behind them interrupts her. “We should let him through.”

“Ty Lee—” Mai sighs, her features softening significantly, her look of apathy melting away.

“Yes!” Sokka agrees, turning around. Listen to your friend!” he says, stopping when he catches a look at his savior. He squints at her, trying to figure out where he remembers her from when it hits him. “Wait aren’t you Azula’s—”

“Azula is at firebending practice with Lo and Li.” Ty Lee says calmly, hands clasped in front of her.

“She can’t know about this,” Mai says, the softness in her features sapping away slowly.

“And she won’t,” Ty Lee reassures. “ _If_ we let him go in. Or else, he’ll keep making a scene. And Azula will find out.”

That argument makes a lot of sense and it’s one of the reasons Sokka thought this plan might work when going in. The Fire Nation treasures their reputation more than anything else.

Mai mutters something under her breath in a surprisingly fond tone that sounds alot like _‘right and it’s not because you’re a romantic,’_ before she squares her shoulders and steels her features. She almost looks like she agrees but doesn’t want to show it. “I promised Zuko I wouldn’t—”

A shifting sound interrupts her as the door opens, the long fingers of one Prince Zuko splayed against the ornate carvings. “Mai, it's…” he exhales, looking more tired and worn out than Sokka’s ever seen him. “It’s alright.” He doesn’t meet Sokka’s eyes but he jerks his head towards him anyway. “Come in, then,” he says, sounding resigned.

He does. The door closes behind them. “So?” Sokka tries.

“So,” he sighs. “Say your piece and then you can leave. You clearly need to get things off your chest.”

Sokka rolls his eyes. “Oh don’t get bitchy with me.” He pauses, not sure what to say next. They’re not at banter level, not right now. He didn't think this through. He breathes in and out trying to calm himself down. ““You think that’s why I’m here,” he states, weary. “To get things off my chest? Get closure?”

Zuko’s reply comes as a low, hollow, “Why else?” He sounds like all the life has been scooped out of him and all that remains is the shell of the man Sokka knows. He hates it.

“And is that what you want?” he says instead of seething like he wants to. “For me to say what I want to and then leave?” There’s a tense silence. “You want me to go? Fine. Tell me.”

“What?”

Tell me that you don’t love me and then tell me to leave. I’ll never come back, I’ll never bother you again. I just need to hear you say it.” He sounds desperate now and he knows he’s probably delving into the realm of dramatics but he needs to say this. He needs to get this off his chest.

“I—” Zuko falters, blinking fast as his eyes dart around in confusion. “You think I don’t love you,” he says as if it’s some big revelation, eyes widening.

A bitter laugh claws its way out of Sokka’s throat. “I _think?_ ”

“I _can’t_ love you,” Zuko says, arms gesturing wildly. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t. I have—”

“Duties, responsibilities you told me.” Sokka rolls his eyes. “To a throne you never cared about.”

“It’s not about what I care about. We wouldn’t be having this conversation if it was about me caring. Nothing I think _matters_ .” He’s turning red now, every visible inch of pale skin changing shades in a matter of seconds. “I'm a puppet! That’s what I’ll always be. I _can’t_ do this.”

Sokka wants badly to reach out, take him in his arms and offer whatever comfort he can. He aches for it, feels it deep inside his chest but he stops himself from holding out his arms. “If you really think that,” he says softly, grating the words through his teeth, “tell me to leave.”

“I— Sokka,” he stutters, a wild look settling on his face. “Please I— I can’t. I don’t…” He takes a deep breath, eyes glazing. Sokka can see his defenses crumbling. He looks up, and then says, very fast like he can’t keep it in anymore, “I don’t want you to leave.” There’s a moment of silence before Zuko chokes on a small sob. “I want you to stay.”

Sokka hesitantly reaches out his arms, and Zuko falls into them, as if the strings holding him abruptly snapped. Their arms entangle and Sokka places a hesitant kiss on the head of hair slumped against his shoulder. “You’re not a puppet,” he says softly. “You can be more than your title, Zuko. You are.” The two pull away slightly, bringing their foreheads together instead. “You’re allowed to make a choice for yourself.”

“I…” Zuko sniffles and then pauses, blinking away a few tears. He moves forward to press a kiss to the lips in front of him, just a short chaste kiss, before closing his eyes. He opens them, fluttering eyelashes making way for the gold as he smiles softly. He nods as if making a decision. “I choose you,” he says, and like it’s both a secret and a confession. “I… I love you.*

It’s the first time he’s really said it, earnest and clear, and Sokka rushes to echo the sentiment. He’s a man of dramatic declarations and this comparatively feels less than what he imagined being in love would be like as a child but as molten gold reflects the sunlight filtering into the room, he smiles. It might not be as he imagined but it’s perfect for the two of them and who they’ve become.

Their lips meet in a kiss, soft and slow, like they plan to do this for the rest of their lives and beyond. He realizes with a jolting halt that that doesn’t seem quite as impossible a feat as it once was. He smiles into the kiss and lets his worries clear out. 

There is a lot to consider moving forward, hurdles to get over and obstacles to conquer. But, for now, they can have this: a kiss under the sunlight and the promise of a future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: finally making use of that Roku/Sokin relationship tag :) kudos, comments, bookmarks are very very appreciated, please let me know what you thought of this :D


	9. sozin’s internalized homophobia: ruining lives since 58 BG

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko gets to live out his theater kid dream and monologue. I try to come up with some form of queer history for the at:la universe. The scar conversation happens. More love letters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is SO sappy, but that should be expected by now. Also: a bit of a self-indulgent filler but I promise some of this has a point.
> 
> as the title suggests, there is some mentions of homophobia but it's really not at all major just Sozin being bad and mean. Again, it is very minor, and we also talk about a lot of the positive things in that segment as well but let me know if that might be a problem for anyone and I'd be happy to give you skip points and summarize it for you :)
> 
> Also: the conversation about how Zuko got his scar happens. I glossed over it because I very much want this to be a positive fic but if you don't want to see that: stop after: [... "I wanted to share that with you."] and skip to [“Thank you for telling me.”]

Sokka wakes up in a vaguely familiar room, on a big empty bed. He gives himself a few moments to panic before his brain catches up to his eyes and he notices the rays of sunlight filtering through the wide, arched windows. _Firebenders rise with the sun_ , he remembers, and lets himself relax back into the comfortable sheets. 

The door creaks open and Sokka meets a smiling face. Zuko, standing there with the sunlight framing his form, delicate hands hooked under a tray of food, smiles fondly. “You’re awake.”

“Mm,” he hums, “morning sunshine,” reaching up to press a chaste kiss to the lips above him. 

“I brought you breakfast,” Zuko says, and something about all of this feels so damn domestic, Sokka has to take a moment so he doesn’t burst into tears. 

“A man after my own heart,” he says with a slanting smile, instead of bawling like a baby like he wants to the prospect of… being loved like this, with breakfast in bed and morning kisses.

“I think,” Zuko whispers, his face suddenly very close. “I already have it.” And then they’re kissing again, soft press of lips soothing something guttural deep inside them.

They eat their food in relative silence. They don’t need much else but this: the sunlight and each other’s company, shared smiles blanketed by the glow of the sun. As they start to finish up, Zuko meets his eyes and smiles softly, a bit wider than he was before.“I want to show you something,” he says, “but we'll have to be a little bit sneaky. Ty Lee said she made sure not many people knew you’re here. And I trust her.”

Sokka blinks in confusion but nods along. “Your sister’s bodyguard? I mean, she tried to help me yesterday, but,” 

“I’ve known her since we were children,” Zuko explains lightly, “and I definitely know Mai trusts her. And if nothing else, I trust Mai.”

“Mm okay,” Sokka agrees readily. He was in as soon as Zuko even opened his mouth, he realizes he's willing to do anything for this man. “What did you want to show me?”

  
  


* * *

Whatever he was expecting, it definitely wasn’t this. “Wow, babe,” he says, “a secret underground... crypt? Can’t believe my boyfriend invented romance.”

Zuko rolls his eyes, a fond smile stretching across his lips. “Yes, I brought you here to show you a sculpture of my evil great-grandfather. Nothing else. Enjoy.” He waves his hand in an adorably dramatic gesture, before his hand pauses and he drops it abruptly. When their eyes meet, he looks a little bit sheepish. “Actually this might disappoint you. I shouldn’t have built it up so much.”

Sokka laughs breathlessly. “Come on, the winding spiral staircase, the hall lined with dragon bones,” he lists, counting on his fingers, “and a giant carved metal door! It felt like walking into an evil lair, it’s cool.” He pauses in his dramatics and lets his face soften to a fond smile. He bends down to place a kiss to his lover’s frown. “ if you like it here, I’ll like it too.”

Zuko feels himself melting, even as Sokka continues. “Wait, can we kiss against the statue? I feel like it would just build on our _make Sozin roll in his grave_ campaign. A statue’s gotta pack more of a punch than just making out against his portrait, right?”

He lets out a laugh, running his fingers past his scar and through his hair. “Maybe later,” he says, almost wanting to add a wink but deciding against it at the last minute. He takes a step back, crouching down to his firebending stance. “Let’s go inside,” he whispers, shifting his energy and firebending a ball of flame, directing it towards the statue. Sozin’s metal likeness takes in the flames and the door creaks open.

Sokka watches this at a respectful distance, blinking away any drifting thoughts, before he peeks in. He smiles a little nervously as he steps through. “Ooh more statues!” he exclaims, his eyes traveling around the room. He turns swiftly and grins. “I like dragons.”

“I know,” comes the reply with a fondness he doesn’t think he’s ever heard before. “Sit,” Zuko says, and grabs a large aged scroll, handing it over. The two sit at the base of the large dragon statue, shoulders pressed together.

Sokka carefully unrolls the scroll, the document feeling fragile under his rough fingers. “ _The Final Testimony of Fire Lord Sozin_ ,” he reads, looking up in confusion. “Your evil warmongering great grandfather?” 

Another fond smile. “Keep reading.”

Sokka sighs and does as he’s told. “ _As I feel my own life dimming, I can’t help but think of a time when everything was so much brighter. I remember my friend_.” He pauses abruptly, his brain reading over the next few words before his mouth can catch up to it. “Hang on, Zuko?”

“Hmm?” comes the response, a teasing hum, if hums could sound teasing.

“Is it friend, or, you know, _friend_?” he asks. There’s no response. He waits in silence for a few moments before his remaining braincells draw the connection. “Babe? Does Fire Lord Sozin have a homoerotic backstory with Avatar Roku no one knows about?”

Zuko laughs brightly, a trace of something shining in his eyes as he sinks down and rests his head on Sokka’s shoulder, letting his muscles relax and himself melt into the contact. “Something like that?” he says between laughs. “Keep reading.”

He keeps reading. The script on the old scroll is smudged in places and faded in others but he makes it through reading its entire contents aloud before he stops and speaks again. Through the monologue, he finds himself putting on the silliest accent he can think of and Zuko, which is everlasting love for theatre, finds enough joy in it to laugh out loud, the same bright and brilliant laugh.

“So,” he says, the ambient noise of his hands on paper as he carefully rolls the scroll back up. “Sozin was evil.” He pauses and then blinks. “You might need to explain this to me,” he says softly, brushing his fingers against the aged parchment on the scroll.

“When I was younger,” Zuko begins, his voice slightly rougher than usual, “I always wondered why things were so much different for me, compared to the rest of the Fire Nation.” He feels a calloused touch brush over his knuckles, the hand pausing to rest over his. “Why other children could play in the streets and I never could, why they could live freely while I had to abide by a million different rules. As I got older, after I realized I was a prince and that meant something , those curiosities mostly went away. Except,” he gestures to their joined hands with his head, “this one.”

“Do you know,” he says, really getting into it now. There’s something theatrical about it: this scene, this monologue, under the firelight hidden against the rest of the world. “The general Fire Nation public is nothing like the nobility? Sure there are some sticklers and those who are stuck in generations past when royalty were seen to be beyond their mortal subjects, but most of the population doesn’t care much about bloodlines and who people love. They never have. I wondered why that was different for us, we should reflect the people’s views but we don’t. When I found this place, I figured it out.

“Sozin banned same-sex marriages a few years after he got the throne. Coincidentally, the law went through, uh,” he laughs a little disbelieving, “a week after Avatar Roku’s wedding. It feels wrong to boil it all down to just a man with too much power wanting, I don’t know, revenge? If he can’t have it neither can anybody else? But, the dates line up. And the scroll supports it.”

Sokka laughs along with him, before nodding with a faux serious expression, trying to stifle a smile. “Evil colonizer man is petty,” he says with his best impression of a sage. 

Zuko lets out a giggle but continues. He has a monologue to get through, after all. He thinks he must have been involved in a theater scene in another life. “People still married in secret, of course, and a few years ago, Ozai was pressured enough to repeal it. He’d do anything to keep the monarchy going and the protestors were dangerously close to revolting.”

“Wait!” Sokka interjects, his eyes lighting up. “I remember reading about this! We rarely get Fire Nation newspapers but this was big. I remember yelling about it with Bato.” He laughs in disbelief. “I was very passionate about gay rights for someone that thought they were a hundred percent heterosexual at the time. Guess I should have known huh?” He grins. “I was like _‘why does this feel like a personal victory?’_ because it was, dumbass.”

He’s met with a fond smile that’s increasingly becoming more and more familiar. “I almost forgot how oblivious you can be sometimes,” Zuko says softly, rolling his eyes at the responding offended squawk. “No, no, you’re one of the smartest people I’ve met, but—”

“One of?”

Another eye roll. Another fond smile. He thinks he’d move heaven and earth to get that look directed at him for the rest of his life. “I’ve met a lot of people, sweetheart,” he teases with a laugh, sprinkling in the pet name with just a little hesitant pause. It’s almost seamless, but not quite, and it makes Sokka grin. “I was saying— you are one of the smartest people i’ve met but you also did not understand i was gay even when i basically spelled it out for you.”

“You kept going on about responsibilities to the throne and I'd been pumping both of us with alcohol that whole time so I thought you were just struggling to string sentences together and we weren’t at a high enough friendship level that I could be relied on to interpret your drunken babble yet,” he says and the two of them break into a quite fit of laughter. He pauses abruptly. “Wait, did we get sidetracked? Sorry, keep going, you were talking about…” he worries at his bottom lip as he thinks and feels a pair of eyes tracking the movement, “Ozai caving to the protests!”

Zuko lights up with a grin. He realizes there’s someone to listen to his monologues, actively leading back to them. “Right, uh,” he struggles to remember what he was going to say under the force of his grin.

“I found this place before that. And so, when I was younger and full of hope for the future, before my father gave me this scar,” he pauses when Sokka’s eyes widen slightly but when no interruption comes, he continues on. “I thought I would be the one to repeal it, when I became Firelord. And then I realized why I wanted to, why it was so important to me. I think I knew, before that, but that was the first time I really acknowledged that part of myself. Realized that it was here, and here to stay.

“I’ve always wanted to bring someone here, when I could. someone I loved, who I could love, without all of this,” he gestures at the scroll, “getting in the way. A few years later, the law was repealed because Ozai thrived on approval and his rates were sinking fast, and I didn’t have any other reason to want to be Firelord, but the little dream never went away. It felt important, I guess, the first place I discovered myself in, and I…” he looks up a little shyly and presses their foreheads together. “I wanted to share that with you.”

Their lips meet in the softest of kisses and it feels like the perfect conclusion to this dream, this hope he’s nursed since he was a child. More kisses are pressed to his cheeks and his forehead, before ending on his nose, soft and gentle as ever. “Can i ask you something?” Sokka asks, their noses brushing at the movement. “You said your father gave you the scar.”

Zuko pulls back, just a little, and then reaches out a hand to cup Sokk’s jaw when he sees the small hints of panic ebb into his features. “We haven’t talked about that yet, have we?” he asks, and he’s met with a soft encouraging gesture, a shake of the head and the jaw pressing closer to his hand. 

“There's not much to say, I guess,” he says, hoping downplaying it would make the memory hurt less. It doesn’t. “I talked out of turn, my father thought it disrespectful, I knelt and asked for forgiveness, he thought it weak. Next thing I know,” he gestures roughly at his scar with a sad little half smile perched on his face. 

“He probably would have banished me if my mother didn’t put in the effort to make the Fire Nation love me so much. I was _their little prince_. I think that’s the only reason I’m grateful for that title. So instead, he just locked me away until I could move without whimpering and told everyone I had hurt myself training.”

The look is Sokka’s face is stricken, shaky and shuttering as he tries to find the right response. “You know that’s not… right, don’t you? You were a child, _his_ child and he…”

“I know,” he responds softly. “I didn’t for a long time, I wanted to atone for it, seek his forgiveness, until I realized it was never coming. So, I stopped trying. Let people tell me I didn’t deserve it and what he did was cruel and wrong until i started to believe it.”

“Thank you for telling me.” He feels a soft kiss being pressed to where the scar meets pale unmarked skin. “And for bringing me here.”

“You listened,” Zuko answers simply, before feeling like the response was _too_ simple. “I…” the words still feel heavy in his mouth and he doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to saying. “I love you.” It’s a confession and a thanks all in one sentence, three words. 

He closes his eyes as he hears the words being echoed and leans in to strong shoulders he knows will always be there for him to use as a crutch when he needs them, strong arms wrapping around his back. He lets himself be held, safe and loved, and thinks of his younger self, alone, unlocking boxes within himself he’d always been afraid to tackle. He lets himself be held, be loved, and he smiles.

* * *

_Love,_

_I’m afraid I’ve been a bit spoiled. When I ran away from you the last time, I had prepared myself to never see you again, so when you appeared at my doorstep and told me you love me, all that resolve crumbled into dust. So, here I am, writing to you as soon as your ship has left Fire Nation shores. If this letter finds you at sea, I hope it can provide you with some semblance of comfort. I know you’re not particularly fond of the sea._

_I love you. I love you. I love you. I’ve kept myself from saying for so long it feels like a dam has been broken now. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt this… free in my life. I love you. I love you. I love you. (I’m being especially sappy today but I promised to you not to apologize for things like this so I won’t. I don’t like breaking my word to you.)_

_I’ve been thinking about if… when we’ll get to tell the world about us. I haven’t said anything about the two of us, specifically, I promise I wouldn’t do so without your consent, but the other day, I told Uncle that I was with someone, a male someone that the Fire Nation would not favor. We’ve been having tea together regularly since you first advised me to spend more time with him and the other day, it all just tumbled out._

_It went well. I didn’t expect Uncle to be angry with me, per se, but there was still the hesitation that I don't think I could have ever shaken. He grew up just like my father did, after all, and I knew he loved me but… I wasn’t sure if that love was enough._

_Turns out, I hadn’t needed to worry. He hugged me, asked about you, though I didn’t give him much of the details, and told me he was happy I told him. I’m not sure what I was afraid of actually, Uncle’s never been like Father, not even when I was a child, but it’s nice to have confirmation. If things get bad, there will at least be someone in my family that won't be out to exploit it._

_Katara wrote me a letter recently, did you know? It was just a bit of… how do I put it? Casual threatening. She told me not to break your heart again and… that stung a little bit. I never wanted to hurt you, sweetheart, I really, really hope you know that._

_It wasn’t all that was in the letter though, she wasn’t terrible by any means. She was kind to me, actually, if you can believe it (I’m sure you could, given that she’s your sister but I really don’t know her well enough to venture a guess)._

_Your whole family has been kind to me. I’m sorry I’ll never be able to properly give you a similar experience. Uncle would love to meet you, though, when you’re ready, and I would love it if you met him. You’ve claimed my heart and mind in recent months, so much easier than I could have ever anticipated and I would like for you to meet another important piece of my life._

_This letter is difficult to end. I want to talk to you, forever and beyond, about anything, everything and nothing at all. I don’t want this letter to end but I know an infinitely long letter is just slightly outside my scope of abilities and it is getting late._

_I thought this would be easier now, with confirmation, and maybe it is: goodbyes are much easier when I know you’ll still be there beyond these pretty words on a page. But more than anything else, it’s even more difficult now that I’ve really gotten to have you. Now that I know I get to have this, keep this._

  
  


_I miss you. I love you. I love you._

_Zuko_

_P.S.: “No water is wide enough once you’ve crossed the sea” (Yuan Zhen)_

  
  


* * *

_My love,_

_I hope you know I cried reading your last letter. Genuinely. I wasn’t even able to write a response when I got it. The only reason this is even getting written right now is because I put the letter away last night and I’m trying out a new ‘out of sight, out of mind’ thing. So far, it’s not working._

_I’m not sure of the exact reason why I cried and whether it was solely for all of the ‘love’s but I can say that it was a significant part. I’ve spent so long not being able to imagine this, and so the fact that I can actually have someone tell me they love me is… unfamiliar. I love you too by the way, if that wasn’t clear, so much that I don’t think this flimsy piece of parchment could do it justice. I’ll try anyway: I love you. I love you. I love you. I lo_

_Everyone here sucks. Sorry it's been hours I don’t know how, if… to make sense? Hold on. Gonna go drink some water._

_I don’t know how coherent this is gonna be so sit tight buddy. You probably know me enough to figure it out . I sat down bright and early to write you a long and sappy love letter to make you cry happy tears like I did but people suck and I actually have like, responsibilities, or whatever so I had to go do that._

_Someone broke in last night, I think. I mean, there are signs of a break in but no one can tell what the people stole or why they would break in in the first place so I’ve been trying to play detective all day. I don’t think i’m very good at playing detective babe, i actually think i suck at being a detective. I’m not supposed to suck at stuff like this, you know, i can’t bend so I learned how to do all the other things but if I can’t even do that, I'm useless?_

_Anyway, that’s not what this is about. I got upset and Suki uncovered her secret stash of sake so i’m a little bit drunk now. And I made you a list! I said i couldn’t sum up how much I love you with words but I’m gonna try._

_A NON-COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF ALL THE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE ZUKO OF THE FIRE NATION_

_One: His laugh. Have you heard it? Delightful. It sounds like the sun herself has descended upon the world, gracing us mere mortals with her presence. It’s beautiful, just like him._

_Two: Speaking of, his face. He’s so pretty! i remember thinking it was annoying, that you got to be pretty on top of everything else._

_Three: The way he talks about things he loves. The look in his eyes, the twinkling, the rapidly constructed sentences. Remember when we went to see that play, how fiercely_

_you defended the original story? And in that crypt, talking about historical turning points like yesterday’s dinner. I can’t believe I get to sit next to you and watch it play out on your face._

_Four: His huge, beating heart. When we were in that hospital, you talked to that little girl like you two were old friends, that was the second I started to think you could be good. And you are. So good. Better than all your bloodline combined, and then some._

_Five: The look on his face as he reads this. Spirits, switching these tenses is giving me a headache. I can almost see your face, blushing probably, and smiling wide but also like you’re trying to hide it. Let yourself smile, let yourself be loved._

_There’s more to this list. Obviously. It says Non-Comprehensive up top for a reason I could keep going for pages and pages, hours and hours and like you said, infinity letters are impossible._

_(Improbable? Maybe one day I can think up a solution, invent the Infinity Letter. Hmm, hold on let me write that down. Okay. One day, i’ll invent the Infinity Letter but today’s not that day.)_

_It’s getting late. I’m a lot more sober now than I started, which is good. I refuse to read this over. Whatever drunken mumbling you get, you’ll get. Remember, you signed up for this._

_It’s raining. Well, the closest thing the South Pole can get to rain which is just… soft snow. But for our purposes: It’s raining. And I miss you._

_Sokka_

_P.S.: “After rain, the waters overflow extraordinarily, as does my love.” (Tsurayuki)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the crypt scene was my attempt at mirroring the v&a scene from rwrb, let me know how you think I did? 
> 
> I'm sorry this took so long to put up. I am but a student, constantly at the beck and call of the education system, and school made it difficult for me to find time to write :) There is one more chapter + the epilogue left!! This fic is already so much longer and taking so much more time to write than I wanted it to so I will try to wrap it up quickly. 
> 
> Kudos, comments and bookmarks are always appreciated, they are the crops with which I feed the little motivation creature in my head and churn out chapters. Thanks for reading :D


	10. uncle iroh says gay rights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> one last bad thing happens but they've worked out all their problems now so they deal with it like fuctional adults

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is for that one person that commented asking for a big "Fuck You Ozai" banner. I tried to do you one better :)

Sokka wakes up blinking into the bright light of early morning, head heavy and eyes feeling like they’re making an attempt to crawl out of his skull. There is a pounding on his door, loud and rapping, and a familiar voice shouting at him to get up. He sat up and massaged his head with cold fingers, trying to knead out the pounding pain. 

A few seconds pass by until he registers the voice, his sister’s, loud and, a little bit panicked. “What?” he mumbles, frowning at her tone. “Katara would you stop screaming? I have a headache!”

Katara takes this as permission, and bursts in, eyes blown wide. “Have you seen this?” she asks, her voice hurried, as a heavy roll of paper lands on his chest with a soft thunk.

Sokka blinks blearily, fumbling with the paper in his hands. It’s a Fire Nation newspaper, the words _LEAKED LOVE LETTERS REVEAL AFFAIR BETWEEN PRINCE ZUKO AND PRINCE SOKKA OF THE SOUTHERN WATER TRIBE_ plastered across the top. Rolled within it is an Earth Kingdom newspaper with a similar headline. He meets his sister’s eyes in silent horror. 

“Whoever broke in the other day must have taken them. I don’t know how it got to the news outlets so fast but—” Katara pauses in her ramble as she sees her brother and immediately goes to him, winding her arms around his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Sokka.”

“Did you leak them?” he asks her and at the horrified shake of her head, ruffles her hair. “Then don’t apologize.” He shifts, bringing his knees to his chest.

“Mom and Dad are calling meetings to sort this all out. I’ll—” she pauses, looking at him again, her eyes filled with concern. “I’ll handle them for you, okay? You just— process.” She bends down and presses her lips to his forehead. “No one is going to take this away from you, Sokka,” she says firmly. “I’ll make sure of it.”

He nods numbly as she slips out the door, tossing one last sympathetic smile his way. And then, he does something he doesn’t often do. With his head pressed to his knees, he listens to Katara, and begins to process.

He feels… empty. Guilty. Violated. Upset? Disappointed, maybe, is the correct word here. Disappointed that they didn’t have more time just to themselves before they had to deal with the rest of the world. He knows he’ll hate himself for it, but he still reaches for the newspaper to see what they’ve published. 

Which is… everything. He reads over the letters, the ones he’s spent hours reading over and over again under candlelights, and only has two thoughts running through his head: _it’s too soon_ and _what does Zuko think?_

For a moment he feels a panic build up in his chest. He just got this, he can’t lose it now, _he can’t_ . It crawls up his throat, choking him. _Zuko wouldn’t._

He relaxes abruptly because... Zuko wouldn’t. He’d like to think he knows Zuko well enough by now and he knows that whatever happens, they’ll come out of it whole. They just need to talk about it, he thinks, because most problems can be solved if one just talks about them. 

With the panic subsiding, he realizes that this might not be… as bad as he initially thought. He is still angry, simmering with it, at whoever decided it was their right to have access to those letters, to push the letters to the rest of the world. But, as unwelcome as this intrusion is, he thinks he could make it work. That _they_ could make it work. He loses himself in the thought. Maybe, _maybe_ , the hope of a far away future, a happy ending, doesn’t have to be so far away.

(A petty part of him wants to turn to the Fire Nation as a whole and shout: _oh yeah, Prince Zuko? The guy you all adore? Mine._ But he’s never been much of a possessive type and he tamps the thought down.)

He goes through the vague motions of his day, getting dressed, making his bed for once, making an effort to get clean and then getting back into bed, gingerly picking up the newspapers again. He reads over the printed words until they’re seared into his brain, and then reads them again.

The door creaks open. More time has passed that he’s realized, noticing the lights that have shifted around the room. Katara slips through the door, her face steeled in determination. “Good news, bad news, more good news,” she says, getting straight to the point. “Which one do you want to hear first?”

Sokka smiles faintly at his little sister. “Go in that order. Good, bad, good. A news sandwich.”

She grins at him, sitting herself down at the edge of his bed. “Good news: the Water Tribes are behind you. Both of them.”  
  


“Northern, too?” he asks, a little hesitantly. He hadn’t doubted his tribe would stand behind him but he knows the Northerners are a bit more inclined towards tradition than their sister tribe, though they’ve been making considerable progress as time goes on. 

She smiles. “Yue had a hand in it, I think. She came out.” Sokka lets himself have a moment to process this before something in him breaks. He lets out a wheezing laugh, torso bending over his knees, laughing, laughing and laughing. Katara joins him and their laughter wracks through their bodies until they feel lighter than air. If only the elders could see them now. 

As the laughter subsides, Katara’s face sombers. “Bad news?” Sokka asks cautiously.

“The Fire Nation’s cut off all contact. No messenger has been able to make contact.”

Sokka’s shoulders tense because the basis of his whole plan was to talk and sort this out. He can’t sort this out if the stupid fucking Fire Nation doesn’t let them _talk_. 

He’s about to lose himself into his thoughts again when Katara puts a soft hand on his shoulder. “I can get us in anyway,” she says firmly, leaning in as if she’s letting him in on some grand conspiracy. “I happen to know a guy.”

* * *

_Spirits bless Katara and Spirits bless Aang_ , he thinks, as Zuko crashes into him, head slumping against his shoulder. He’s standing at a familiar doorway in the Fire Nation Palace, the same one he screamed at months ago, and takes the Prince into his arms, pressing a soft kiss to his temple.

His sister and Aang walk in from behind him, as Toph Beifong follows Zuko out of his room, her posture relaxing as she registers their presence. “Good, you’re here,” she mutters, punching him in the arm as she goes to greet Katara and Aang. “He’s being all broody, and I can’t even see facial expressions.”

“We came as soon as we could,” Katara says, squeezing Toph's arm and shooting a concerned look at Zuko. She’s trying her best to keep her voice as calm as she can make it, and though he can hear the undercurrent of worry in her voice, Sokka appreciates the effort.

The four of them step into the room, shutting the large door behind them. As they situate themselves around the room, Zuko looks up and blinks, as if waking up. “You’re actually here,” he mutters, as he unceremoniously falls into a nearby sofa, dragging Sokka down with him.

“Hmm? Why, do you hallucinate me often?” He laughs when he’s met with an adorable frown. “Dreams are just hallucinations, aren’t they?”

“You know, we’ve already had this conversation,” Zuko says softly, before something darker crosses across his features, “And now, everyone else… knows too.”

“Is that so bad?” There’s another frown, and he laughs in response to it. “Not the gushiest, sappiest stuff we’ve ever written becoming public documents part of this whole thing, but,” he gestures roughly with his free hand, “everyone knowing?”

There’s a pause before Zuko answers. “It’s not how I wanted it to be,” he says slowly, and then pauses again, rolling over the question and the hidden question underneath the first one over in his head. “But, no,” he says finally, “I guess, it’s not too bad.” He smiles softly and Sokka smiles back, and everything feels alright again, as if something vital has clicked into place.

There’s a knock on the door, strong and sure, but still gentle. All the bodies around the room but Aang and Toph stiffen. They can count the number of people in the palace they trust in one hand. Toph shakes her head. “It’s Iroh,” she says.

Sokka feels himself loosen and offers a reassuring smile towards his sister, who is still on guard. She nods and goes up, loosening the latch on the door and letting in a gentle-looking man. It’s easy to connect this man to Zuko’s letters, with the calm air that surrounds him.

“Prince Zuko,” Iroh smiles and gestures to the tray with a kettle and a stack of cups resting on his arms. “I received word you had friends over. I made tea.” His gaze drifts around the room, rounding on every figure before it settles on Sokka and Zuko, still wrapped up on the sofa. Sokka has the itching feeling he should be making a good impression on Uncle Iroh and smiles, nodding his head. 

“Thank you, Uncle,” Zuko says, and Iroh silently pours six cups of tea, one for each person in the room. Katara hesitates on bringing the cup to her lips when she’s handed it, but with another reassuring smile from her brother, tentatively takes a sip. It would be really bad, Sokka thinks distantly, if Uncle Iroh was actually evil.

He isn’t, of course he isn’t, and the tea is very, very good. “Holy shit,” Sokka murmurs after his first sip. “It’s actually _that_ good.”

“Did you not believe me when I told you?” Zuko snorts into his own cup of fragrant jasmine tea.

“I did, but I thought you were exaggerating! I mean,” he pauses to take another sip, because the tea is really, very good, “you love your uncle and I know I’ve sung the praises of some of Katara’s cooking even if it wasn’t that good.”

Katara looks up from her cup and narrows her eyes at her brother. “You have?”

Sokka blinks. “Did you catch the part about how much I love you?” he tries, letting comical nervous laughter slip from between his lips as he halfheartedly hides his face behind Zuko, clutching at his shoulders. Zuko laughs and then ducks away leaving Sokka to face the brunt of Katara’s gaze.

Uncle Iroh watches on with a small, content smile. He doesn’t think he’s seen his nephew fully relaxed around this many people in years. He doesn’t want to break this but he has to let him know. “Nephew,” he says, catching Zuko’s attention. “We are expected to be in a meeting with your father this evening.”

Zuko stiffens, the muscles in his shoulders coiling ever so tightly. “I would like you to know that I will be there for you in whatever way you need,” Iroh tries in encouragement and the coil unwinds just slightly as he’s met with a small smile from his nephew. “Prince Sokka has been encouraged to join.”

Sokka smiles. Zuko frowns. “You can’t—”  
  


“Ozai isn’t going to hurt me, Zuko,” he replies softly, brushing his thumb over the scar. “What is he going to do? Throw me out? Cause an international scandal?”

Zuko is smiling now, relaxing bit by bit. “We already did that,” he says in a joking reminder.

Sokka rolls his eyes fondly. “Another international scandal.”

“If he does,’ says Katara, “the people will connect the dots, they aren’t stupid, and, I don’t think they’ll be very happy.” 

Toph nods, looking like she’s plotting another one of her schemes again. Zuko and Aang have become very familiar with that face over the years, every time Toph dragged them into some scam or another. They never look forward to it. “I’ll pelt him with rocks if he tries anything,” she says proudly and Zuko immediately rushes to correct her.

“Toph,” he says firmly, “you’re not coming.” He expects an argument, or to be pelted with rocks himself. What he doesn’t expect is for Toph to shrug and nod, seemingly unbothered.

“Okay.”

“Really?”

The face returns. “Twinkletoes will pelt him with rocks for me,” she grins, slinging an arm around Aang’s shoulder. 

“He’s not coming either,” says Zuko but hell if anyone here listens to him about sensible things.

Aang seems deep in thought as he says, “Well, it is an international incident…”

“Uh huh,” agrees Toph, of course it's Toph, readily. “And isn’t it your job, as the Avatar, to keep balance and harmony between the nations?”

And then, Katara, of all people chimes in. “And, if this meeting doesn’t go well, it will definitely threaten the peace between nations we all work so hard to keep up,” she says, sounding just on the edge of serious. She’s not, Sokka knows, because he knows his sister but also because of the glance she shoots his way. He grins.

“Yes,” Aang agrees, “but I’m not pelting the Fire Lord with rocks. I’m sorry—”

“Coward,” says Toph, jamming her elbow into his ribs.

“I’m supposed to be a peaceful, neutral entity!”

“That’s fine bud,” Sokka interjects, “just flash him the glowy Avatar eyes any time he says something shitty.”

“That's definitely,” says Katara, pausing, “undiplomatic but also…”

“But also,” Toph picks up, “fuck Fire Lord Ozai”

Katara’s face breaks into a smile. She says the next words carefully, like they don’t fit into her mouth quite right but she’s powering through anyway. “Fuck Fire Lord Ozai.”

Sokka doesn’t think he’s ever smiled this hard. “Yeah, fuck that guy. This is the fuck Fire Lord Ozai club now,” he declares, before looking around the room. “Zuko? Aang?”

Zuko snorts, leaning his head until he’s slumped against the back of the sofa. “You already know the answer to that.” He rolls his eyes. “Fuck him.”

“Aang?”

Aang hesitates. “I don’t wanna say it, but...”

“But you agree?” asks Toph.

His answering smile is enough. The room breaks into a round of laughter and Iroh smiles along, glad for the light among what he thought would be a time of darkness.

As the laughter fades out and a comfortable silence settles around them, Katara finds herself looking around the room, seeking another face, a sixth to their group of five. Sokka sees her looking and takes a headcount of his own. And then, “Hey, where’s Suki?”

* * *

They find Suki just outside the meeting room, where Zuko, Iroh and Sokka are to meet Fire Lord Ozai. She comes barreling down the hall, flanked by Mai and Ty Lee as he reaches up and clasps Zuko’s shoulders with both hands. “I know who leaked the letters.”

Zuko’s eyes drift from her, to Mai next to her, and then to Ty Lee whose expression is definitely one he’s seen before. He speaks, confirming what he’s been afraid to think about. “It’s Azula, isn’t it?” he asks, his voice resigned. The look on Suki’s face is enough to confirm.

Azula saunters down the hall and Zuko wants to confront her, ask her why, though he thinks he already knows. But there’s no time. He hugs Suki and whispers his thanks to the three of them. And then, all of them, Zuko, Sokka, Aang, Iroh, and Azula, step into the waiting room, where Ozai is already waiting for them. 

  
Sokka was expecting something as spooky and unsettling as Sozin’s crypt, but the meeting room is surprisingly plain, just red and gold tables in a wide room with large spanning windows. The windows were covered by thick red curtains, the room only illuminated by firelight, and Sokka desperately wishes he could push them open and let some natural light into the depressing room.

They all take their seats, Sokka and Iroh on either side of Zuko, and Azula and Aang across from them, Ozai at the head of the table. There was a heavy silence, going on for a long oppressive moment, before Ozai began to speak.

“I’ve been made aware,” he says, “of a few rebels on the outskirts of the Fire Nations with ambitions to take down the crown. It is said they will stop at nothing to slander our name and titles.” He pauses, taking a meaningful sip of his tea. “I have also been made aware that handwriting analysis is quite unreliable and therefore the validity of any written document is extremely difficult to truly prove.”

They can all tell where he’s going with this. He wants them to fake it, tell the world it was a petty attempt at sabotaging the royal reputation and pretend it never happened. The thing is though, as much as neither of them particularly liked their confidential words released for the world to scrutinize, they don’t want to lie about it either. 

“No,” Zuko says flatly, an almost imperceptible tremble to his voice only those closest to him would notice. Sokka and Iroh do, but so does Azula, her head leaning forward in interest.

“No?” says Ozai, his voice ice-cold. Zuko, his shoulders already impossibly tightened, stiffens further. “This is not the time for your _insolence_ , Prince Zuko, you have _already_ brought—“

“Brother,” says Iroh, standing. His usual calm smile is replaced by a stern face, void of any positive emotion. Sokka has not known Iroh for long but even he knows how uncharacteristic this is for the man. Still, the expression slips onto his face like an old friend, as if he wears it all day, and it’s, honestly, terrifying.

“It was your influence that made him this way,” Ozai accuses. “Made him think this was acceptable behavior!”

Sokka speaks, even though he knows he shouldn’t. “You mean, the gay thing? Because that is okay. Weren’t you,” he clears his throat, “your Majesty, Fire Lord Ozai, the one to pass that law?”

Ozai turns to Sokka, his composure devolving into something more wild-eyed and he’s just about to start fearing for his life when Iroh interrupts once again, hand firmly braced against the ornate table. “The plan I suspect you are beginning to form, Brother,” Iroh says, “hinges almost entirely on the assumptions that it is necessary to, as you put it, preserve the royal reputation against sabotage, and that there is any necessity of a royal reputation anyway.”

“What are you saying?”

“The monarchy is obsolete, we both know it. It’s only a matter of years before it crumbles. You’ve already lost public favor.”

“Speaking of such things, especially in the Fire Lord’s court, is treason, Uncle,” Azula croons from the back, her voice smooth and steady.

“If royal bloodlines hold so much importance, could I be stopped if I were to claim the title of Fire Lord?” asks Iroh, and oh, that’s a low blow. Sokka, hell even Zuko doesn’t think he’s ever seen Uncle Iroh like this, so cold and calculating. In that moment, Zuko remembers his uncle was a military general, a good one, and thanks the Spirits he is on his side. “I could hold the title for a few years, slowly disband the monarchy and instill a Republic, instead.”

“Rule the Fire Nation the way the people want to be ruled,” Zuko says calmly. His shoulders are still squared but he doesn’t look afraid or on the brink of flinching anymore. He looks his square father in the eye and doesn’t move a muscle. 

“Do you think,” Ozai starts coldly, “that all the country will rally behind you and your dalliances just because you asked nicely? That is not how countries are run.”

“No, I don’t think the colonies or your ancient councilmembers or the fucking bootlickers are going to stand behind me. But they are not all that makes up this country!” He’s just warming up now, fingers carding through his messed up hair, anger washing over him in waves. 

“You don’t understand—”

“Fire Lord Ozai.” It’s another voice, one that hasn’t yet spoken in that meeting room. Aang stands by the open window, his fingers pulling away the deep red curtain. Sunlight is streaming into the previously fire-lit room. “Look down.” It would have sounded like a command coming from anyone else that wasn’t gentle Aang.

Ozai does, because even he is not foolish enough to not listen to the Avatar himself, and slowly walks over to the open window. The others follow. 

Zuko isn’t prepared for the sight that greets him. Crowds of people, maybe hundreds of them, cheering loudly, screaming his name. They’re holding signs and banners, paintings of him and Sokka, signs reading “FREE ZUKO” in bold black lettering. 

They’re here for him, he realizes, to support him, to let him know they’re there and they’re behind in. He almost collapses at the thought. With a stray finger, he wipes a stray tear from his scarred eye, and grins, wider than he has all day.

Ozai storms out.

It’s an end that might have made Sokka laugh if the environment wasn’t so tense, a world leader petulantly walking out of the room when something doesn’t go his way. Iroh looks to Zuko and smiles serenely, “You do not have anything else to worry about,” he tells him.

Zuko nods but it’s not his uncle he’s looking at. It’s Azula, sitting in her seat with a cool expression, like everything has gone her way, though Zuko knows her well enough to know that it’s quite the opposite. There is a tenseness to her shoulder, and an almost imperceptible furrow to her brow that tells him that his sister feels anything but cool and collected in that moment.

Iroh traces Zuko’s gaze and nods, walking out of the room wordlessly, only pausing to give a reassuring squeeze to his nephew’s shoulder. Aang follows him, whispering, “we’ll wait for you,” to the two of them and offers a friendly smile.

And then, there’s only three. 

Azula stands. “Why did you do it?” Zuko asks, but before she has the chance to answer, he interrupts. “Never mind, I know why you did it. I want to know why you didn’t just talk to me.”

Azula tilts her head, and smirks. “Aw, did you want me to grovel at your feet, Zuzu?” A stray piece of hair hanging springs free from her top knot as she gestures with her head. Zuko is concerned. “Oh dear Crown Prince, would you pretty please just hand your throne to me for no reason whatsoever?” 

“I don’t want the fucking throne,” he snaps and Azula blinks, maybe at the statement or maybe at his tone. “I don’t want to be Fire Lord, Azula, I never have!”

“That is what Uncle has been saying for years now,” she says, the coolness returning to her voice once again. “That didn’t stop him from using his claim against Father just now, did it?” 

“He’s been saying he doesn’t want to be Fire Lord because he doesn’t! He did it to protect me. Has Father blinded you so much that you’ve forgotten the concept of caring about other people?”

Sokka pushes forward and places a soft hand on Zuko’s shoulder, who relaxes at the touch. Azula takes a step back, her eyes narrowing on the contact. And then, she turns wordlessly, and leaves the room. _Huh_ , Sokka thinks faintly, _maybe dramatic exits run in the family._

There’s only the two of them in the room now and Zuko collapses into one of the chairs. “I shouldn’t have said that to her,” he whispers, and Sokka pulls up a chair to sit across from it. He doesn’t say anything, just looks at him with what he hopes is an understanding expression. “Father’s just as harsh on her as he is on me. If not more. She’s grown up with all these expectations, always having to be perfect and put together and I…”

He exhales deeply. “Comparing myself to her isn’t going to help right now.” He looks at Sokka now, their eyes locking. “She hurt you too and I can’t ask you to forgive her but… is it bad I can’t bring myself to be angry at her? What she did was terrible, and cruel and invasive but,” he pauses, not knowing where to take his thought next.

“But she’s your sister,” Sokka says, soft and understanding. Because he does understand. His and Katara’s relationship has never been as tumultuous as Zuko and Azula’s but he understands the pull towards family, and how even if they hurt you, it is difficult to be angry at them. 

There is a stretch of silence, just on the edge of comfortable. “Hey,” Sokka says, “look out the window.” He does. The people are still there, still holding their signs and chanting their support. “All those people down there? They love you. I love you. Our friends outside that door? They love you too.” Zuko smiles, ever so faintly. “Azula will come around, You’re difficult not to love.”

“Sap,” Zuko mutters. “You’re just saying that,” he teases but leans in for a kiss anyway.

When they separate, they stand, hands clasped. And then, with as dramatic as an exit they can have with no one else around, step through the door.

Their friends are there to greet them on the other side. “How’d it go?” asks Katara.

Her question is ignored as Toph comes barreling through, swinging an arm around Zuko’s shoulder and punching his arm. “I got to pelt your dad with rock after all!” she says. He sighs exasperatedly but she isn’t deterred. “What is he gonna do? Blame the blind girl he thinks can barely bend?”

“I think he thought I did it,” Suki says, a little proudly. “Good.”

“You can’t take credit for my hard work!” Toph protests and she’s off Zuko's shoulder, running after Suki as the six of them and Mai make their way towards the courtyards. 

  
As they walk, Zuko turns to Katara and smiles. “It went all,” he tells her. “We’ll be alright.”

And he believes it. He hears the chatter of his friends around him, thinks of the crowds outside the palace chanting his name in support, of the warm fingers intertwined in his. Next to him, Sokka gasps, “The turtleduck pond!” 

Yeah, he thinks they’ll be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is technically the last chapter and there are... some parts of this I'm not the happiest with but this fic is way longer than I planned it to be and I'm desperately trying to finish it before I lose interest. I really don't like leaving things unfinished but I don't want this to become a chore either? I hope this was okay anyway, and a satisfying ending?
> 
> It's not actually the /ending/ ending. There is an epilogue left for this. It's supposed to be short and sweet so give me a day or two :) I hope you liked this!


	11. epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> history, huh? bet we could make some.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short and sweet epilogue!!

“Are those winter coats for me? I _am_ quite attached to my limbs.” There’s laughter, loud and bright as the group comes together under the shadow of the towering Fire Nation ship, bubbling with joy.

Sokka rolls his eyes fondly. “Two years, and you’d think this guy would have some better jokes by now,” he says, draping the big blue winter coats over Zuko’s shoulder and pulling him into a hug. The Glacier Spirits festival is somewhat of an anniversary for them, the date of their first kiss. They haven’t seen each other in months, but within that hug he thinks, _it feels good to be home_. 

“What the fuck I can’t feel my toes!” Toph shouts somewhere next to them and they laugh in sync.

“Welcome to the South Pole, Toph,” says Suki, swinging an arm over Toph’s shoulder as Katara dumps her bundle of winter coats onto her.

Aang, the heathen who is somehow immune to harsh temperature, grins, stepping through the snow in the monk apparel he always wears. “Good news, Sokka! The Republic City council position is yours if you want it.”

Sokka feels himself grinning. Republic City is closer to the Fire Nation than the Southern Water Tribe is, that’s for sure. He loves his family, he does, but Katara’s helping with Republic City too and he can always visit his parents and grandmother. “Of course, I want it!”

Aang is about to say more when a large snowball slams square into his chest. “Stop talking politics,” says Toph, patting more snow between her newly acquired gloves. “We’re supposed to be on vacation.”

They walk along, Sokka hooking an arm over Zuko’s shoulder and drawing him closer as the conversation shifts to something more private. “Congratulations, Councilman,” Zuko whispers with a smile, his cheeks flushed from the cold wind.

“Hi, thank you,” Sokka greets softly, pressing a kiss to his cheek. He feels light, happy, as they trudge through the same snowy pathways he has for the past few months, this time with company instead of by himself. Somewhere nearby, Suki and Toph laugh, the sounds open and bright, and he feels at home.

“I have some news of my own,” Zuko begins a little nervously after a few moments. Sokka hums in acknowledgement and question but doesn’t speak, still smiling. “I… just got confirmation on a house. In Republic City.” Silence. Neither of them speak. Then, Zuko clears his throat, blushing not only from the cold this time and says, more strongly, “I bought us a house.”

Sokka laughs, almost keeling over, his face hurting as he grins wider than he thought was possible. “You bought us a house!” he exclaims. “In Republic City!” He pauses to laugh again, the corners of his eyes crinkling with joy. “Imagine telling that to us from two years ago.”

  
“They’d probably think they’d lost their minds.”

Sokka barks out another laugh. “They would!” He pauses, turning to press a real kiss to his lover’s lips. It turns out awkward, because they’re both smiling too big to kiss properly but it’s them, and it’s perfect. As he pulls away, a small frown emerges between his brows. “Wait, did you sort this all out with the Fire Nation? Are they gonna let you stay in Republic City?”

“Well,” says Zuko, looking sheepish, “they’re going to need a Fire Nation representative too, aren’t they?” Sokka laughs and pulls him closer. 

Later at the festival, they will drink and dance and laugh, just as they did two years ago, but this time, they will know more of themselves that they used to. Zuko will still help set off the fireworks and this time, they will kiss under the bright lights and let their laughters sound over the loud boom. 

Afterwards, they will get on a ship together and sail their way to Republic City. It is a fledgeling country, barely getting on its feet, but its people are full of hope for the future and willing to work with them and that is all that matters. They will enter their shared house and mold it into a home, and they will go out into the world and mold the country to the way they planned that one drunken conversation years ago.

“Hey,” Sokka whispers over candlelight one night, years later. Republic City is always bright, and there are still lights filtering in through the window despite night having fallen hours ago. They’re both still working, sat next to each other in their shared bedroom but engrossed in their own documents.

Zuko hums looking up. Sokka drops a letter onto his lap and grins. 

_Dear Prince Zuko and Prince Sokka,_

_I don’t know if you remember me. It’s been a few years but my name is Kira and I remember you two visiting me in the hospital. I’m older now, and I wanted to thank you for all you did for me. And for the world._

_My girlfriend is from one of the noble families of the Fire Nation, not that they really matter these days. I want to thank you for what you’ve done for her too. I know just a few years ago, what we are wouldn’t have been encouraged, but I’ve met her family and they have been kind to me. Kinder than they would have been before you, as they’d admitted to me._

_My burns still hurt sometimes whenever it rains but she brings me flowers from her gardens whenever they get too bad. We read your letters over sometimes, and quote them to each other. I think the words are lovely, even more romantic than Love Amongst the Dragons ever could be, but you didn’t hear that from me._

_Thank you for all you’ve done and all you continue to do. News is getting faster by the day, and it’s always amazing to hear of how Republic City is growing and evolving._

_All my love,_

_Kira_

_P.S.: I wanted to share my favorite part of your letters. I needed both of you to know how much they mean to both of us. “I thought, perhaps one day, my destiny could diverge from the path laid out for me. Perhaps one day, I could be remembered, not for my wrongs, but my rights.” (Prince Zuko)_

Sokka smiles as Zuko looks up and wipes a tear from his unscarred eye with his thumb, smiling softly. “We made history,” he whispers softly.

Zuko grins, sniffling slightly as he carefully tucks Kira’s letter away, safe for him to read later. “Yeah,” he says, wiping the tears from his eyes and letting his smile shine through. “We made history.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally finished it!! thank you all for reading! this work means a lot to me and I'm glad I got to share it with all of you and hear what you had to say about it (your comments never failed to make me smile). Thank you!!!


End file.
